This report focuses on a technique -- earned value management (EVM) -- for overseeing the cost, schedule, and performance of major capital investments during the investment process (e.g., information technology systems, structures, weapons systems). EVM provides metrics to help inform assessments of whether capital investments are "on track" from three perspectives: the investment's planned cost, time schedule, and functionality. Variance from a project's planned cost, schedule, and functionality might occur due to the inherent complexity and uncertainty of a project, poor planning or implementation, or, sometimes, simply bad luck. Although EVM attempts to address several significant monitoring and evaluation issues, other evaluation techniques are typically necessary in order to understand why variance from the planned cost, schedule, or functionality might be occurring. In addition, other evaluation methods are typically more useful in assessing other significant questions, such as whether a project is worth undertaking (or continuing) and, after the investment process is completed, whether an investment might be having an impact on achievement of an agency's mission or the success of a public policy, compared with what would have happened without the investment. EVM may be of increasing salience in executive branch practices and, implicitly or explicitly, in presentations to ...

In the 111th Congress, Members have introduced several proposals to establish a commission that would make potentially far-reaching recommendations on how to address the federal government's long-term fiscal situation. Generally speaking, the measures would include Members of Congress as some or most of a commission's membership, provide for a majority of commission members to be appointed by congressional leaders, have varying degrees of partisan balance in membership, and require supermajority votes of commission members to approve recommendations. Each of the bills also would provide special legislative procedures to encourage expedited consideration of a commission's recommendations. This report provides a comparative analysis of four fiscal commission proposals introduced in the 111th Congress that would address some, or all, aspects of the federal government's long-term fiscal situation. The four proposals are S. 2853 (the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act of 2009, sponsored by Senator Kent Conrad ); S. 1056 (the SAFE Commission Act, sponsored by Senator George Voinovich); H.R. 1557 (the SAFE Commission Act, sponsored by Representative Jim Cooper); and S. 276 (the Social Security and Medicare Solvency Commission Act, sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein). The report also discusses potential issues for Congress that may inform assessments whether the ...

Program evaluations can play an important role in public policy debates and in oversight of government programs, potentially affecting decisions about program design, operation, and funding. One technique that has received significant recent attention is the randomised controlled trial (RCT). There are also many other types of evaluation, including the observational and qualitative designs.