Summary
Program evaluation - One reason why program managers ask for a program evaluation is cultural - it relates to the world they live in. Many program managers have received training in program evaluation and performance measurement either in their post-graduate degrees (MPA for example) or elsewhere. Program evaluation is frequently discussed in government circles and their program's "marching orders" or enabling documents often refer to the need for program evaluation as an accountability measure.
* Analysis of the program's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats ("SWOT") for each of seven business areas - strategy, finance, HR, IT, program operations (service delivery), marketing (program "reach") and innovation.Program evaluation - These cultural, driver and process differences lead to different requirements for who should perform program evaluation and management consulting engagements. For a program evaluation, external consultants need to be able to show suitable program evaluation process and program domain expertise (though the former is far more important than the latter). Useful qualifications are an MPA and membership in the Canadian Evaluation Society.While program evaluation and management consulting sometimes use similar diagnostic techniques, these disciplines are quite different from one another, as are the skills of the professionals who typically perform them. Program evaluation is frequently done mid-term or at the end of a program, commonly by specialist evaluators. Management consulting is an advisory service designed to identify and analyze management problems, recommend solutions and, if necessary, to help implement the solutions. When they have a management problem, governments prefer to use program evaluators rather than management consultants. This is partly because governments do not work in a competitive environment and they prefer not to bring public attention to their management problems. If the program manager knows that the program has management problems, or even symptoms of management problems, he/she should consider engaging a management consultant familiar with government processes rather than a program evaluator.See the full content of this document
Extract
Contracting the Right Professional
AS A CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT consultant (FCMC) and a member of the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), I am frequently invited to perform both management consulting and program evaluation engagements for the federal and provincial governments in Canada. There are occasions when the client asks for a program evaluation when he/she really needs a management consultant and (less frequently) vice versa. Why is this? While they sometimes use similar diagnostic techniques, these disciplines are quite different from one another, as are the skills of the professionals...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
