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Published on: September 10, 2018
Qualitative cost-benefit evaluation of complex, emergent programs
Patricia J Rogers1, Kaye Stevens, Jonathan Boymal
1CIRCLE (Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Research, Consulting and Learning in Evaluation), Building 15, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 124 Latrobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Patricia.Rogers@rmit.edu.au
Abstract:
This paper discusses a methodology used for a qualitative cost-benefit evaluation of a complex, emergent program. Complex, emergent programs, where implementation varies considerably over time and across sites to respond to local needs and opportunities, present challenges to conventional methods for cost-benefit evaluation. Such programs are characterized by: ill-defined boundaries of what constitutes the intervention, and hence the resources used; non-standardized procedures; differing short-term outcomes across projects, even within the same long-term goals; and outcomes that are the result of multiple factors and co-production, making counter-factual approaches to attribution inadequate and the use of standardized outcome measures problematic. The paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this method and its implications for cost-benefit evaluation of complex programs.
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