Comparative Policy Evaluation

"This is without question a useful book for auditors and evaluators. It continues, details and deepens the rapprochement of two fields whose eventual integration holds great promise for a more profound understanding of the factual lessons of public policy. But beyond usefulness to the craft, it is also an important book in today's political environment because such integration would strengthen the voice of knowledge at a moment when it is unceasingly challenged, and when the presentation of even the highest-quality information requires extraordinary reserves of credibility and courage." - Eleanor Chelimsky, Former U.S. Assistant Comptroller General (GAO) for Program Evaluation and Methodology

"Crossover of Audit and Evaluation Practices: Challenges and Opportunities is an important book because oversight bodies need to consider and use both audit and evaluation because of the valuable insight each provides into organizational performance. The authors show that there is much to be said for eliminating duplication, and increasing effectiveness and efficiency of these exercises by leveraging the collective knowledge and tapping into different perspectives, rather than working separately without benefitting from these additional insights. Indeed, it may be time to take the disciplines out of their glorious isolation and encourage them to interact in the real world of public policymaking." - Jonathan D. Breul is a retired senior executive with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and later Partner and Executive Director of the IBM Center for The Business of Government, as well as an adjunct professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

"This is a very timely, up-to-date and comprehensive book discussing concepts, practices, relationships and case studies in the areas of performance audit, internal audit and evaluation. A wide range of chapters by an impressive collection of international authors from very different backgrounds and institutions, make it a must read by anyone considering the relative roles of audit and evaluation." - John Mayne, Advisor on Public Sector Performance

In my experience there have been two things which have hindered the recent conduct of audit and evaluation as review functions. First, there has been confusion regarding the scope and roles that these similar but different functions play - leading to uncertainty regarding what constitutes appropriate evaluation, internal and performance audit. Second, given that these functions are each distinct - yet they should ideally complement and hopefully reinforce each other - people have typically had difficulty overcoming challenges to having auditors and evaluators work together. This book addresses these two problems directly and will provide the reader with clarifications and answers to many related questions. In addition, as someone who has been involved in both functions, I like the way that these international thought leaders point to what can be learned across functions. This book should be useful to practitioners, study commissioners and users alike. - Steve Montague, Fellow of the Canadian Evaluation Society

"This is without question a useful book for auditors and evaluators. It continues, details and deepens the rapprochement of two fields whose eventual integration holds great promise for a more profound understanding of the factual lessons of public policy. But beyond usefulness to the craft, it is also an important book in today's political environment because such integration would strengthen the voice of knowledge at a moment when it is unceasingly challenged, and when the presentation of even the highest-quality information requires extraordinary reserves of credibility and courage." - Eleanor Chelimsky, Former U.S. Assistant Comptroller General (GAO) for Program Evaluation and Methodology