The measure of policy? Evaluating the evaluation strategy as an instrument for budgetary control

This article reports recent research undertaken on the contribution of program evaluation to that part of the budget process for which the Australian public service has carriage. It examines the degree of success which the Labor government's evaluation strategy attained in serving budget agency information purposes. The research is not conclusive, only indicative. Based on two sets of evidence -interviews with officers in the Department of Finance¹ and an analysis of survey results on the use of evaluation in the budget - it contends the evaluation strategy has had only a marginal impact on central budgetary processes. By documenting changes in the approaches of budget officials the article reports the impact of program evaluation on the core function of Finance - the provision of policy advice relating to the expenditure priorities of government.