The federal government spends over $900 billion, or about one third of the total budget on non-defense discretionary programs annually (not including Medicare and Medicaid). How does the government know if programs are successful? Is the air getting cleaner? Are we getting more homeless veterans off the streets? Is job training getting to the people who need it most? Most politicians support programs based on their ideological agenda. This can lead to misinformation about the value of programs. In the 1990s, Congress passed the Governmental Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which required federal agencies to develop measures to track their progress in meeting goals. Debate continues over the value of these measures and whether they tell us what we should know about the effectiveness of government programs. This lecture will focus on the history of program evaluation in government, the types of measures agencies use to show progress in meeting goals, why they can become controversial, and how to determine what is a good or bad measure or indicator.

Cosponsored by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University (OLLI Mason).

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Michael Mason spent over 33 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He served as a project manager in the Program Evaluation division in the Office of Policy and was the Evaluation and Accountability team leader for the Office of Water.

ABOUT OLLI MASON

OLLI Mason provides intellectual and cultural experiences to curious individuals. Learn more at OLLI.gmu.edu.

INVITE

This program is appropriate for ages 18+. Register by clicking on the "Begin Registration" button. A Zoom link will be emailed a day before start of each program.