aes22 International Evaluation Conference

Danielle Spruyt (NSW Treasury)

Evaluation of government initiatives is necessary to support the NSW government commitment to evidence-informed policy and investment.

NSW Treasury’s Centre for Evidence and Evaluation (CEE) has coordinated the update of the government’s program evaluation guidelines to reflect innovations in NSW Government processes and in evaluation best practice. They are one of a suite within a framework of evidence requirements to inform policy and budget setting in New South Wales.

The process of updating the guidelines has involved extensive consultation across government clusters, drawing upon the evaluation expertise that sits within clusters, and building a framework relevant to a diverse range of evaluation challenges.

This presentation will discuss lessons learned from:

• the process of including the different stakeholder perspectives and requirements from evaluation in an over-arching guidance document (lessons in collaboration)
• building evidence across the life of an initiative (lessons in coordinating requirements)
•  key developments within the guidelines that respond to our stakeholder evaluation challenges and guidance requirements,

including:

• monitoring and evaluation planning at initiative design and implementation
• coordinating stages of evaluation (including process, outcome and economic evaluation)
• engaging and collaborating with client and community stakeholders.