Program & Policy Evaluation
Description
Evaluation is the systematic assessment of an operation and/or the outcomes of a program, service, policy, treatment or activity, applying scientific procedures to accumulate reliable and valid evidence on the manner and extent to which specified activities produce particular effects or outcomes. There are different epistemological paradigms, theories of evaluation and different approaches within these theories. Members of this cluster have used post-positivist and constructivist paradigms and counterfactual and generative causal inference paradigms. Members of this cluster have used different approaches, such as Utilization-focussed, Experimental/quasi-experimental, Participatory and Theory-driven approaches, both in the conduct of actual evaluations and in the development of evaluation theory and methods.
Program evaluations are conducted at several stages during a program's lifetime (Rossi, Lipsey & Freeman 2004). Members of this cluster have conducted evaluations within all stages: needs assessment; assessment of program design and logic/theory; process (implementation) evaluation; assessment of the program's outcome or impact and assessment of the program's cost and efficiency.
Vision
To develop, advance and apply appropriate research approaches and techniques to the evaluation of health-related interventions in order to garner new knowledge and improve the health and well-being of people in Canada and abroad.
Goals
- Using appropriate approaches to ask relevant questions to understand the value and worth of health-related programs, services, policies, treatments or activities.
- Following ethical principles while carrying out evaluation research and work.
- Advancing scholarship in program evaluation theory and methodology.
- Generating scholarship that has impact, leading to improved health-related programs, services and polices and ultimately health gains.
Collaborations and partnerships
Members of the cluster will continue to engage in collaboration with other research groups at Western University and with other regional, national and international universities and with other community and government partners.
