Hi, my name is Rhodri Dierst-Davies, Chair of the American Evaluation Association’s Government Evaluation Topical Interest Group and Director of the California HIV/AIDS Research Program.
Hot Tip: The Kids are Not Alright
This week’s blogposts have provided examples of opportunities and promises that thoughtful evidence-based evaluations can provide. Our profession works hard to ensure that outcomes are relevant and useful for our clients, agencies, and society at large. Such impacts are extremely salient in the field of government evaluation, as public programs should continuously strive for transparency, efficiency, and a tangible return on investments.
For over 20 years evaluation sciences have become embedded in government. Almost all US government agencies have recruited and hired in-house evaluators, increased the number of evaluation contracts, and created funding mandates or recommendations to ensure that evaluation is embedded into a programs’ core function. The signing of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, also known as the Evidence Act, solidified government evaluation as a key federal priority.
Recent executive orders and White House actions have undermined these efforts. The shift has been so abrupt that the American Evaluation Association, the American Public Health Association, and the American Medical Association have all written to the White House outlining potential negative impacts on our nation’s health. These go beyond the field of evaluation, putting much of the research enterprise of the US in limbo. Through all this chaos one thing is clear, recent efforts to improve government efficiency are not in any way grounded in the theories or practices of the evaluation sciences.
Cruel Trick: Shifting Priorities and Realities
While these issues are larger than the field of evaluation alone, questions remain as to a path forward for practitioners. Unfortunately, there are no right answers, only suggestions:
- Diversified Funding Portfolios – in my experience this is something we talk about all the time, but don’t do enough of. This is the time to dust off the proverbial rolodex and explore what foundations, state/local agencies, and commercial agencies are looking for.
- Protect Your Assets and Intellectual Property – unlike other scientific practices, evaluators tend to be exceedingly generous in this area. A bit of protectionism is not necessarily a bad thing. If you have a special skill, tool, or insight, it may be time to keep it a bit closer to the chest.
- Advocate for Your Work – now is the time to launch that re-branding or marketing campaign you have always envisioned. A bit more self-promotion during these times will not hurt your career.
- Take Care of Yourself and Communities – this is a very challenging time for those of us working in or with the public sector. Our community partners are hurting and the important work we have been doing is under threat. Many community-based organizations are laying off staff, firing consultants, and core priorities are changing or just being eliminated. Now is the time to do personal outreach and advocacy to support those who are voiceless in these tumultuous times.
Lessons Learned: It’s Probably Going to Get Worse
I wish I could end this post with something positive, but all indications are that this will be getting worse. Once the NIH restructuring is complete all indications are that states will be receiving block grants for both research and program management activities, and more staff cuts to government agencies will happen later this year. Time like these breeds both chaos and opportunity, and as a profession I hope the evaluation community finds a way to pivot and grow. Until there is a clear path, be good to each other.
The American Evaluation Association is hosting Gov’t Eval TIG Week with our colleagues in the Government Evaluation Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our Gov’t Eval TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.