Article(electronic)September 1, 2012

Using Root Cause Analysis for Evaluating Program Improvement

In: Evaluation journal of Australasia: EJA, Volume 12, Issue 2, p. 4-14

Checking availability at your location

Abstract

A common evaluation purpose is to determine whether a policy or program was implemented as intended: referred to as formative evaluation, process evaluation, or evaluating program improvement. A well-designed formative evaluation is important in: detecting program drift; providing timely feedback to program staff to make cost-saving mid-course corrections; reassuring the sponsor that quality assurance measures are implemented to protect investments; and interpreting impact/outcome evaluation. A formative evaluation should not just gather data on deviations from an anticipated course of action, but provide recommendations for improvement. Current methods for program improvement vary in their ability to solicit targeted recommendations. Root cause analysis (RCA) is a well-established, robust methodology used in a variety of disciplines. RCA has been primarily used by evaluators operating from a theory-driven orientation to evaluate the merit and worth of a program or policy. Surprisingly, a review of the literature suggests that RCA's utility as a program improvement tool has remained largely unrecognised in evaluation. This article illustrates the application of RCA in evaluating program improvement. The conditions under which RCA might be preferred over other formative evaluation methods are discussed.

Languages

English

Publisher

SAGE Publications

ISSN: 2515-9372

DOI

10.1177/1035719x1201200202

Report Issue

If you have problems with the access to a found title, you can use this form to contact us. You can also use this form to write to us if you have noticed any errors in the title display.