O descompasso de uma experiência: avaliação do Programa Habitar Brasil na Comunidade África-Natal/RN

This research deals with the evaluation of the Programa do Governo Federal para Urbanização de Favelas Habitar Brasil(1993) carried out in the Africa slum - Redinha neighbourhood in Natal-Rn. This study carried out in period from 2005 to 2006 searches to identify the effects of the actions proposed by Program in 1993-1994 about the current urbanistic configuration of the Africa community. It analyzes the effectiveness in the process of achievement of the considered objectives to habitation, communitity equipments, infrastructure and agrarian regularization. On the evaluation process, it has been as reference the works developed by Adauto Cardoso (2004), Blaine Worthen (2004), Ronaldo Garcia (2001) and Rosângela Paz (2006). About the Habitational Policy with approach to the Urbanistic Right and the right to the housing, the reflections by Raquel Rolnik, Nabil Bonduki, Ermínia Maricato, Saule Júnior, Betânia de Moraes Alfonsin and Edésio Fernandes are main references. To gauge the execution of the objectives proposed by Habitar Brasil in 1993, it has searched in the documentary data of the time and in information gotten in interviews with technicians that had participated of the program, consistent references on what was considered, what was executed and the process of the intervention of Habitar Brasil in the Africa community. The area analysis in 2005-2006 has developed on the base of the urbanistic survey of the current situation from the four performance lines of the Program: habitation, infrastructure, community equipments and agrarian regularization, with a current urbanistic evaluation of Africa considering the intervention carried out in 1993 and 1994. The study points out the context of Brazilian Habitational Policy where the Programa Habitar Brasil was launched, explaining the main principles of the Program. In terms of local, it empahsizes the administrative-political factors that had contributed so that Natal-Rn city has been pioneering in the resources captation of Habitar Brazil (1993). Considering Habitar Brazil in Africa, the work argues and presents the intervention diagnosis and the proposal, developed by Program in 1993 evidencing the local problem of the time. After that, it makes a current reading of the area, identifying in 2006 representative elements of Habitar Brasil (1993-1994) for the Africa community. It identifies significant advances in the constitution of the institucional apparatus of the plaining system of Habitation of Social Interest for the city of Natal and points the fragilities in the implementation of the urban infrastructure actions and above all in the achievement of the objectives of the agrarian regularization

Programa de aquisição de alimentos (2003-2010): avaliação da implementação pela CONAB no Rio Grande do Norte

This thesis aimed to evaluate the implementation of the Food Acquisition Program(PAA) through CONAB RN in the period of 2003-2010 with the perception of all agents involved in the implementation of the government program.For the methodological trajectory it was adopted a descriptive bibliographical and documentary approach with triangular qualitative and quantitative, also called evaluative research.The theoretical model was supported by the authors Draibe (2001), Aguilar and Ander-Egg (1994) and Silva(2001), among others, that focused on family farming and evaluation of implementation of public policy having as a category of analysis the size implementation of policy and the latter divided into 10 theoretical dimensions.The universe consisted of three groups: the first were the managers and technicians from CONAB(RN and Brasilia), totaling 15 subjects. The second group was of associations/cooperatives that participated in the programin 2010, totaling a sample in each access of 15 representatives. The third group of subjects totaled with 309 representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations that received donations of food for the same period. Semi-structured interviews and forms were adopted as instruments of data collection.The data were processed qualitatively by the analysis of content (interviews and documents) and quantitatively by means of statistical tests that allowed inferences and adoption of frequencies. Among the key find ingests that the program is not standing as a structure supported by planning. The interests of the performers do not necessarily converge with the objectives of the Food Acquisition Program (PAA). A shockof goals was identified (within the same program) when comparingthe financial agent (Ministry of Rural Development and of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger Ministry r) and the executor, CONAB/RN. Within the assessed dimensions, the most fragileis the sub-managerial decision-making and Organizational Environment and internal assessment, still deserves attention the sizeof logistical and operational Subsystem, as this also proved weak.The focusin the quest toexpand thequantificationof the resultsof theFood Acquisition Program (PAA)by CONAB/RN does forget a quality management focused on what really should be:the compliance with the institutional objectives of the government program.Finally, the perspective for the traded implementation should be re-examined because excessive discretion by managers along with technical staff has characterized there al role of the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) as public policy. We conclude that the implementation model, which apparently aggregates values to the benefitted citizens, has weakened the context of work on family farms having the management model of the implementation process be reviewed by the Federal Government and point too ther paths, which have as a guide line the emancipation and developmentof the field or in the field andat the same time enables the reduction of nutritional deficiency of beneficiaries in a balanced and coherent way

O descompasso de uma experiência: avaliação do Programa Habitar Brasil na Comunidade África-Natal/RN

This research deals with the evaluation of the Programa do Governo Federal para Urbanização de Favelas Habitar Brasil(1993) carried out in the Africa slum - Redinha neighbourhood in Natal-Rn. This study carried out in period from 2005 to 2006 searches to identify the effects of the actions proposed by Program in 1993-1994 about the current urbanistic configuration of the Africa community. It analyzes the effectiveness in the process of achievement of the considered objectives to habitation, communitity equipments, infrastructure and agrarian regularization. On the evaluation process, it has been as reference the works developed by Adauto Cardoso (2004), Blaine Worthen (2004), Ronaldo Garcia (2001) and Rosângela Paz (2006). About the Habitational Policy with approach to the Urbanistic Right and the right to the housing, the reflections by Raquel Rolnik, Nabil Bonduki, Ermínia Maricato, Saule Júnior, Betânia de Moraes Alfonsin and Edésio Fernandes are main references. To gauge the execution of the objectives proposed by Habitar Brasil in 1993, it has searched in the documentary data of the time and in information gotten in interviews with technicians that had participated of the program, consistent references on what was considered, what was executed and the process of the intervention of Habitar Brasil in the Africa community. The area analysis in 2005-2006 has developed on the base of the urbanistic survey of the current situation from the four performance lines of the Program: habitation, infrastructure, community equipments and agrarian regularization, with a current urbanistic evaluation of Africa considering the intervention carried out in 1993 and 1994. The study points out the context of Brazilian Habitational Policy where the Programa Habitar Brasil was launched, explaining the main principles of the Program. In terms of local, it empahsizes the administrative-political factors that had contributed so that Natal-Rn city has been pioneering in the resources captation of Habitar Brazil (1993). Considering Habitar Brazil in Africa, the work argues and presents the intervention diagnosis and the proposal, developed by Program in 1993 evidencing the local problem of the time. After that, it makes a current reading of the area, identifying in 2006 representative elements of Habitar Brasil (1993-1994) for the Africa community. It identifies significant advances in the constitution of the institucional apparatus of the plaining system of Habitation of Social Interest for the city of Natal and points the fragilities in the implementation of the urban infrastructure actions and above all in the achievement of the objectives of the agrarian regularization

Researching homelessness: Challenging exclusion?

This themed issue of Social Inclusion provides a timely opportunity to reflect on how contemporary research is addressing the multi-dimensional issue of homelessness around the world. The papers presented here provide a wide range of new evidence on homelessness including theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions. They draw on a range of national experiences in Europe and beyond, and addressing the issue of social inclusion and social exclusion of homeless or previously homeless people from a range of perspectives and approaches. It is hoped that the contributions to this themed issue will prove influential in terms of both scholarship and potential to enhance policy making and service delivery to some of our most excluded citizens.

Trajectoire de la réforme de l’inspection en Belgique francophone

L’article montre que la trajectoire de la réforme de l’inspection en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB) est loin d’être linéaire. Elle est marquée par des processus de reconversion institutionnelle d’institutions existantes, mais aussi de sédimentation et d’hybridation entre l’« ancien » et le « nouveau ». En effet, elle participe à la fois d’une politique de changement institutionnel ambitieuse et de construction du « système scolaire » dans un paysage au départ assez décentralisé et fragmenté ; mais, simultanément, elle est marquée par des « contraintes » institutionnelles existantes, des négociations et transactions entre différents acteurs politiques et scolaires qui déterminent les contours et les compétences du nouveau corps d’inspection en gestation après le décret de 2007 comme les rôles des inspecteurs et leur division du travail avec d’autres acteurs. De plus, dans la mise en œuvre du décret, les orientations normatives, cognitives et professionnelles des acteurs, la permanence de la diversité institutionnelle des réseaux comme la variance structurelle des territoires « modulent » et « tempèrent » l’ambition du changement institutionnel affiché par la politique de la FWB. Cela change mais pas complètement : il y a un processus de conversion partielle et « en tension » de l’institution qu’est l’inspection.

The public management issues of access to electronic gaming machines (EGMs) : a case study of policy in Victoria, its effects and requirements for evaluation

Wynne and Schaffer (2003) have highlighted both the strong growth of gambling activity in recent years, and the revenue streams this has generated for governments and communities. Gambling activities and the revenues derived from them have, unsurprisingly, therefore also been seen as a way in which to increase economic development in deprived areas (Jinkner-Lloyd, 1996). Consequently, according to Brown et al (2003), gambling is now a large taxation revenue earner for many western governments, at both federal and state levels, worldwide (for example UK, USA, Australia). In size and importance, the Australian gambling industry in particular has grown significantly over the last three decades, experiencing a fourfold increase in real gambling turnover. There are, however, also concerns expressed about gambling and Electronic Gaming in particular, as illustrated in economic, social and ethical terms in Oddo (1997). There are also spatial aspects to understanding these issues. Marshall’s (1998) study, for example, highlights that benefits from gambling are more likely to accrue at the macro as opposed to the local level, because of centralised tax gathering and spending of tax revenues, whilst localities may suffer from displacement of activities with higher multipliers than the institutions with EGMs that replace them. This also highlights a regional context of costs, where benefits accrue to the centre, but the costs accrue to the regions and localities, as simultaneously resources leave those communities through both the gambling activities themselves (in the form of revenue for the EGM owners), and the government (through taxes).

Aligning policy with practice: an evaluation of vocational education and training in the library and information services sector

Vocational education and training for the library and information services (LIS) sector in Australia offers students the career pathway to become library technicians. Library technicians play a valuable role in drawing on sound practical knowledge and skills to support the delivery of library and information services that meet client needs. Over the past forty years, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has monitored the quality of library technician courses. Since 2005, ALIA has run national professional development days for library technician educators with the goal of establishing an alternative model for course recognition focusing on the process of peer review to benchmark good practice and stimulate continuous improvement in library technician education. This initial developmental work has culminated in 2009 with site visits to all library technician courses in Australia. The paper presents a whole-of-industry case study to critically review the work undertaken to date.

From policy borrowing to implementation : an illuminative evaluation of learning and teaching in higher education in Australia (2002 to 2008)

This study documents and theorises the consequences of the 2003 Australian Government Reform Package focussed on learning and teaching in Higher Education during the period 2002 to 2008. This is achieved through the perspective of program evaluation and the methodology of illuminative evaluation. The findings suggest that the three national initiatives of that time, Learning and Teaching Performance Fund (LTPF), Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), and Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA), were successful in repositioning learning and teaching as a core activity in universities. However, there were unintended consequences brought about by international policy borrowing, when the short-lived nature of LTPF suggests a legacy of quality compliance rather than one of quality enrichment.

Evaluation of Indigenous justice programs.: final report / Project D, Safe Aboriginal Youth Patrol Programs in New South Wales and Northbridge Policy and Juvenile Aid Group in Western Australia

The Australian Government has provided funding to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law and justice programs across five subject areas to identify the best approaches to tackling crime and justice issues and better inform government funding decisions in the future. This report presents the findings of subject area "D", which examined two different approaches to delivering community and night patrol services for young people: the Safe Aboriginal Youth Patrol programs in New South Wales, and the Northbridge Policy project (the Young People in Northbridge project), in Western Australia. Night patrols can address crime either directly or indirectly, by prevention work or by addressing the social causes of crime through community development.

Illuminative evaluation as a method applied to Australian Government policy borrowing and implementation in higher education

Any government deciding to invoke widespread change in its higher education sector through implementation of new policies impacts on every institution and all staff and students, often in both the time taken up and the heightened emotions caused. The central phenomenon that this study addresses is the process and consequences of policy changes in higher education in Australia. The aim of this article is to record the research design through the perspective (evaluation research), theoretical framework (program evaluation) and methods (content analysis, descriptive statistical analysis and bibliometric analysis) applied to the investigation of the 2003 federal government higher education reform package. This approach allows both the intended and unintended consequences arising from the policy implementation of three national initiatives focused on learning and teaching in higher education in Australia to surface. As a result, this program evaluation, also known in some disciplines as policy implementation analysis, will demonstrate the applicability of illuminative evaluation as a methodology and reinforce how program evaluation will assist and advise future government reform and policy implementation, and will serve as a legacy for future evaluative research.Any government deciding to invoke widespread change in its higher education sector through implementation of new policies impacts on every institution and all staff and students, often in both the time taken up and the heightened emotions caused. The central phenomenon that this study addresses is the process and consequences of policy changes in higher education in Australia. The aim of this article is to record the research design through the perspective (evaluation research), theoretical framework (program evaluation) and methods (content analysis, descriptive statistical analysis and bibliometric analysis) applied to the investigation of the 2003 federal government higher education reform package. This approach allows both the intended and unintended consequences arising from the policy implementation of three national initiatives focused on learning and teaching in higher education in Australia to surface. As a result, this program evaluation, also known in some disciplines as policy implementation analysis, will demonstrate the applicability of illuminative evaluation as a methodology and reinforce how program evaluation will assist and advise future government reform and policy implementation, and will serve as a legacy for future evaluative research.

Evaluation of a workplace alcohol and other drug policy

BACKGROUND The current impetus for developing alcohol and/or other drugs (AODs) workplace policies in Australia is to reduce workplace AOD impairment, improve safety, and prevent AOD-related injury in the workplace. For these policies to be effective, they need to be informed by scientific evidence. Evidence to inform the development and implementation of effective workplace AOD policies is currently lacking. There does not currently appear to be conclusive evidence for the effectiveness of workplace AOD policies in reducing impairment and preventing AOD-related injury. There is also no apparent evidence regarding which factors facilitate or impede the success of an AOD policy, or whether, for example, unsuccessful policy outcomes were due to poor policy or merely poor implementation of the policy. It was the aim of this research to undertake a process, impact, and outcome evaluation of a workplace AOD policy, and to contribute to the body of knowledge on the development and implementation of effective workplace AOD policies. METHODS The research setting was a state-based power-generating industry in Australia between May 2008 and May 2010. Participants for the process evaluation study were individuals who were integral to either the development or the implementation of the workplace AOD policy, or both of these processes (key informants), and comprised the majority of individuals who were involved in the process of developing and/or implementing the workplace AOD policy. The sample represented the two main groups of interest—management and union delegates/employee representatives—from all three of the participating organisations. For the impact and outcome evaluation studies, the population included all employees from the three participating organisations, and participants were all employees who consented to participate in the study and who completed both the pre-and post-policy implementation questionnaires. Qualitative methods in the form of interviews with key stakeholders were used to evaluate the process of developing and implementing the workplace AOD policy. In order to evaluate the impact of the policy with regard to the risk factors for workplace AOD impairment, and the outcome of the policy in terms of reducing workplace AOD impairment, quantitative methods in the form of a non-randomised single group pre- and post-test design were used. Changes from Time 1 (pre) to Time 2 (post) in the risk factors for workplace AOD impairment, and changes in the behaviour of interest—(self-reported) workplace AOD impairment—were measured. An integration of the findings from the process, impact, and outcome evaluation studies was undertaken using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. RESULTS For the process evaluation study Study respondents indicated that their policy was developed in the context of comparable industries across Australia developing workplace AOD policies, and that this was mainly out of concern for the deleterious health and safety impacts of workplace AOD impairment. Results from the process evaluation study also indicated that in developing and implementing the workplace AOD policy, there were mainly ‗winners', in terms of health and safety in the workplace. While there were some components of the development and implementation of the policy that were better done than others, and the process was expensive and took a long time, there were, overall, few unanticipated consequences to implementing the policy and it was reported to be thorough and of a high standard. Findings also indicated that overall the policy was developed and implemented according to best-practice in that: consultation during the policy development phase (with all the main stakeholders) was extensive; the policy was comprehensive; there was universal application of the policy to all employees; changes in the workplace (with regard to the policy) were gradual; and, the policy was publicised appropriately. Furthermore, study participants' responses indicated that the role of an independent external expert, who was trusted by all stakeholders, was integral to the success of the policy. For the impact and outcome evaluation studies Notwithstanding the limitations of pre- and post-test study designs with regard to attributing cause to the intervention, the findings from the impact evaluation study indicated that following policy implementation, statistically significant positive changes with regard to workplace AOD impairment were recorded for the following variables (risk factors for workplace AOD impairment): Knowledge; Attitudes; Perceived Behavioural Control; Perceptions of the Certainty of being punished for coming to work impaired by AODs; Perceptions of the Swiftness of punishment for coming to work impaired by AODs; and Direct and Indirect Experience with Punishment Avoidance for workplace AOD impairment. There were, however, no statistically significant positive changes following policy implementation for Behavioural Intentions, Subjective Norms, and Perceptions of the Severity of punishment for workplace AOD impairment. With regard to the outcome evaluation, there was a statistically significant reduction in self-reported workplace AOD impairment following the implementation of the policy. As with the impact evaluation, these findings need to be interpreted in light of the limitations of the study design in being able to attribute cause to the intervention alone. The findings from the outcome evaluation study also showed that while a positive change in self-reported workplace AOD impairment following implementation of the policy did not appear to be related to gender, age group, or employment type, it did appear to be related to levels of employee general alcohol use, cannabis use, site type, and employment role. Integration of the process, impact, and outcome evaluation studies There appeared to be qualitative support for the relationship between the process of developing and implementing the policy, and the impact of the policy in changing the risk factors for workplace AOD impairment. That is, overall the workplace AOD policy was developed and implemented well and, following its implementation, there were positive changes in the majority of measured risk factors for workplace AOD impairment. Quantitative findings lend further support for a relationship between the process and impact of the policy, in that there was a statistically significant association between employee perceived fidelity of the policy (related to the process of the policy) and positive changes in some risk factors for workplace AOD impairment (representing the impact of the policy). Findings also indicated support for the relationship between the impact of the policy in changing the risk factors for workplace AOD impairment and the outcome of the policy in reducing workplace AOD impairment: positive changes in the risk factors for workplace AOD impairment (impact) were related to positive changes in self reported workplace AOD impairment (representing the main goal and outcome of the policy). CONCLUSIONS The findings from the research indicate support for the conclusion that the policy was appropriately implemented and that it achieved its objectives and main goal. The Doctoral research findings also addressed a number of gaps in the literature on workplace AOD impairment, namely: the likely effectiveness of AOD policies for reducing AOD impairment in the workplace, which factors in the development and implementation of a workplace AOD policy are likely to facilitate or impede the effectiveness of the policy to reduce workplace AOD impairment, and which employee groups are less likely to respond well to policies of this type. The findings from this research not only represent an example of translational, applied research—through the evaluation of the study industry's policy—but also add to the body of knowledge on workplace AOD policies and provide policy-makers with evidence which may be useful in the development and implementation of effective workplace AOD policies. Importantly, the findings espouse the importance of scientific evidence in the development, implementation, and evaluation of workplace AOD policies.

Economic evaluation of forest policy programs.

XVIII IUFRO World Congress, Ljubljana 1986.

Analysis and evaluation of public health policy in Cuba : progress on millennium development goals

[EN] The main objective of this project is to analyze Cuban public health policy and the Millennium Development Goals, especially those linked to the issue of health, presenting their potential and strengths with a well-defined time horizon (2000-2015). The Millennium Development Goals are the international consensus on development and was signed as an international minimum agreement, with which began the century. The MDGs promote various goals and targets, with the corresponding monitoring indicators, which should be achieved by all countries for the present year. Health is an area that is at the center of the Millennium Development Goals, which reinforce each other to get a true human development itself. The research was done through theoretical frameworks of social production of health and disease, social justice and the power structure. A retrospective analysis of Cuban economic and social context is performed in order to study whether health-related MDGs are likely to be completed by the deadline on the island and likewise, the main parameters related to health compared with those of the neighboring countries in the Americas.

The temporal and spatial evaluation on China's agricultural policy output since 1978

Since reform and opening up, how much contribution has China's implementation of new agricultural policy made to agricultural output? This paper is trying to establish an agricultural policy output econometric model for doing a quantitative analysis of China's new agricultural policy. The results show that China's agricultural policies on agricultural output have an average contribution rate of about 7% since 1978, which is consistent with the OECD's basic forecast. There are obvious temporal and spatial differences. Generally speaking, we can divide the contribution of agricultural policy into three periods, which are the start-up phase from 1978 to 1991 (14 years), the stationary phase from 1992 to 2002 (11 years) and the rising phase from 2003 to 2008 (6 years). In space, the contribution of agricultural policy underwent a process from the all-low in the start-up phase, the gradual increase in the stationary phase to the all-high in the rising phase. Northern and western regions are more sensitive to policies. There are three major factors that can affect the contribution of regional agricultural policies, which are the process of national industrialization strategy, terrain and the level of local finance.

Multiple Response System: Evaluation of Policy Change in North Carolina's Child Welfare System.

Systemic challenges within child welfare have prompted many states to explore new strategies aimed at protecting children while meeting the needs of families, but doing so within the confines of shrinking budgets. Differential Response has emerged as a promising practice for low or moderate risk cases of child maltreatment. This mixed methods evaluation explored various aspects of North Carolina's differential response system, known as the Multiple Response System (MRS), including: child safety, timeliness of response and case decision, frontloading of services, case distribution, implementation of Child and Family Teams, collaboration with community-based service providers and Shared Parenting. Utilizing Child Protective Services (CPS) administrative data, researchers found that compared to matched control counties, MRS: had a positive impact on child safety evidenced by a decline in the rates of substantiations and re-assessments; temporarily disrupted timeliness of response in pilot counties but had no effect on time to case decision; and increased the number of upfront services provided to families during assessment. Qualitative data collected through focus groups with providers and phone interviews with families provided important information on key MRS strategies, highlighting aspects that families and social workers like as well as identifying areas for improvement. This information is useful for continuous quality improvement efforts, particularly related to the development of training and technical assistance programs at the state and local level.