Bhutan's overarching development paradigm of Gross National Happiness (GNH) promotes a harmonious balance between material and non-material dimensions. But Bhutan's evaluation practice has not yet adopted the principles of GNH, preventing evaluation findings and recommendations from aligning with the priorities of GNH. This article makes the case…

This instrumental case study documents a community-based participatory evaluation research (CBPER) project that involved a community partner, two graduate students, a faculty member, and an external funder. It highlights the fact that a participatory evaluation model is a viable way to conduct community-based research (CBR) when a community…

The Institute for Work, Skills and Training was assigned to evaluate a labor market program aimed at the integration of long-term unemployed individuals aged 50 or older. The integration should have been achieved not only by training and coaching of individuals, but also by building regional networks between labor market stakeholders within a…

Using a multilevel statistics framework, a study examined the role of multiple sites in evaluation of three programs: Greater Avenues to Independence (GAIN), Job Training Partnership Act, and Food Stamp Employment and Training. Although multisite evaluations have great potential, they are more difficult and expensive and have limited success in…

The author comments on significant methodological issues emerging from substantial studies of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act which are highly relevant to evaluations of the Job Training Partnership Act. (JOW)

The Anne E. Casey Foundation (AECF) funded replications of effective jobs projects to achieve better job placement and retention for low-income, young adults. The six projects funded, collectively called the Jobs Initiative (JI), in Denver, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle, and St. Louis, used an outcomes framework developed by The…

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) was heralded as a major overhaul of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program. Five years after passage of JTPA, the answer to the question of whether it has indeed managed to remedy CETA's shortcomings appears to be an unequivocal maybe. Although the JTPA has been praised by numerous…

This paper describes a place-based research demonstration program to promote and sustain employment among residents of selected public housing developments in U.S. cities. Because all eligible residents of the participating public housing developments were free to take part in the program, it was not possible to study its impacts in a classical…

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) authorized a range of research, evaluation, and demonstration activities to increase understanding of the employment problems of youth and to help determine the most effective policies and programs to address these problems. Although many programs, such as the War on Poverty and…

This report synthesizes information from many sources about state and local Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) evaluation activities and issues. The report's five sections are interrelated, but each can stand alone as a discussion piece on JTPA evaluation. The first section, on the role of evaluation in JTPA, outlines the rationale for doing…

This Planning, Management, and Evaluation (PME) guide was developed by the National Alliance of Business as part of its program of management assistance for Private Industry Councils (PICs). The guide is a tool which PICs can use to improve their capability to plan, manage, and evaluate the programs which they administer, and to establish locally…

Net impact estimates of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs vary widely and can be explained by the different evaluation methodologies used. Estimates are sensitive to the inclusion of recently unemployed persons in the comparison sample and assumptions about the time of decision to enroll in CETA. (GDC)

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) provided the mandate and resources for experimental and demonstration activity to determine the most effective means to alleviate the employment problems of economically disadvantaged youth. An immediate need was to establish plans and priorities for research, evaluation, and…

Research on the implementation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) included a sample of more than 20,000 people in 16 service delivery areas (SDAs). The random assignment model for the study produced estimates of the impact of the overall JTPA program in this sample of SDAs, plus separate impact estimates for individuals recommended for…

An approach and methodology for the systematic measurement of the impact of employment-related social programs is presented in this primer. Chapter 1 focuses on evaluation as the third step (the first two being planning and operation) in the process of program implementation. Chapter 2 examines the impacts of social programs. Topics include…