Historical Perspective and Lessons Learned

The functions of program evaluation techniques in policymaking are similar to those in President Johnson's planning, programming, budgeting (PPBS) program for identifying and selecting goals, searching for economical alternatives, and measuring performance. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 gave new emphasis to GAO responsibilities in performing analyses of federal agencies. A GAO guidance document on evaluation and analysis, issued in 1976, emphasized the need for public resource allocation. GAO's role in program evaluation goes back many years, and it has continued to expand its staff and expertise in this field. Comprehensive evaluation work has been included in reports on many subjects with major emphasis in evaluation of weapon systems acquisitions. Cooperation between skilled analysts and decisionmakers is the best way to provide analysis that will be used in decisionmaking. There will be an important role for GAO in the next decade in appraising the effectiveness of evaluation functions in federal agencies.