Peter Siminski writes in The Conversation (23.8.16) about questions raised over the evaluation of Indigenous-focused services and programs, highlighting the need to measure all public policy and public spending on the basis of firm evidence.
‘A report released today by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) has drawn attention to the lack of quality evaluations being conducted on Indigenous programs.
‘The report identified 1082 Indigenous-specific programs delivered by government agencies, Indigenous organisations, not-for-profit NGOs and for-profit contractors. It found 92% have never been evaluated to see if they are achieving their objectives.
‘While it oversteps in some regards, this report raises a very important point: we don’t really know what works if we don’t check. That’s a lesson that applies to all areas of public policy spending, not just Indigenous affairs.’