Linking Implementation and Evaluation through Program Monitoring

Abstract

Monitoring economic development programs, such as enterprise zone (EZ) programs, assumes special urgency because traditional approaches have been found wanting. In an effort to link implementation and evaluation of EZ programs, this article examines the conceptual properties of monitoring activities at three levels: strategic, operational, and output. The main advantages of monitoring are its process and context orientation that suggest a more broadly based conceptualization of monitoring processes. The paper concludes with an application of the framework to enterprise zone programs and discusses the potential for monitoring in this area.

Following the Money

“…Sponsors may ask evaluators to determine if a project is "on course" during its lifetime and to provide interim data that confirm whether the intended sequence of events is in fact happening. These interim readings provide guidance in deciding whether to continue the effort unchanged, to encourage revisions, or even to conserve resources for more promising opportunities by terminating the project early (Herbert & Anderson, 1998;Milligan et al, 1998;Reid, 1990).…”