In May 2010, Nan Wehipeihana and I did a presentation for the anzea Regional Symposium in Wellington. Here are the slides from the session (see link at the bottom), for those who may be interested.

Strategic Policy Evaluation: Answering macro-level cross-project questions

Abstract:

Policy-relevant, strategic evaluation asks (and answers) questions that go beyond the evaluation of a single initiative. It addresses such questions as: (1) What is the value of a particular policy initiative as a contributor to strategic policy outcomes? (2) How well does each policy initiative fit with and complement the other initiatives that make up the strategic policy mix? Are there any unnecessary overlaps? (3) What is the collective value of the suite of initiatives that have been deployed to achieve a particular strategic outcome? (4) Have we got the right mix to deliver on the key outcomes? (5) Which approaches to achieving key long-term outcomes are working most cost-effectively for whom, under what conditions, and why? This session uses a current case (evaluation of Ka Hikitia, the Ministry of Education’s Māori education strategy, to outline some specific strategies to help ensure evaluation delivers high quality, truly useful information to calibrate macro-level policy – and to incisively inform Ministers on policy effectiveness.

Click to download a PDF copy of the workshop handout.