This report focuses on improving the evaluation of community services for their effectiveness and value. The report outlines how governments can use data collection to build more disciplined and consistent program evaluation, and how to foster a culture that enables this.

The level of poverty in Australia is unacceptably high and we are not making any progress in reducing poverty and disadvantage. This is in part due to governments’ failure to evaluate community services for their effectiveness and value.

The community rightfully expects that taxpayer funds are used to effectively improve economic and social outcomes for all citizens, but too often this is not the case. Without consistent program evaluation and implementing improvements based on data, evidence and analysis, ineffective programs are allowed to continue even as effective programs are stopped.

There is plenty of evidence showing what makes a good evaluation and how to conduct it. The bigger issues are cultural change, political will and the capacity and capability within the public sector to work with data and undertake quality evaluations.