Goal-oriented evaluation as a program management tool

Health promotion programs, like all human services activities, must be well managed in order to be effective. In an age of reduced financial resources to support new programs and sustain old ones, all program directors must be concerned with the efficiency with which available resources are used to meet program goals and objectives. In times such as these, competition is high for those resources that are available. Programs that can demonstrate both effectiveness in meeting their goals and operational efficiency in doing so are more likely to be successful in the competition for these scarce resources. In this article, practical suggestions for the use and presentation of evaluation data in the analysis of program effectiveness and efficiency are presented. The methodology is based on the contention that program evaluation should be useful to program directors as an integral part of their management of program resources in relation to program goals.