Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement: An Introduction to Practice offers a conceptual, as well as practical, introduction to program evaluation and performance measurement for public and non-profit organizations. This introductory text discusses topics in a detailed fashion, making it a useful guide for practitioners who are constructing and implementing performance measurement systems as well as for students.

James C. McDavid (PhD, Indiana, 1975) is a professor of Public Administration at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He is a specialist in program evaluation, performance measurement, and performance management. He has conducted extensive research and evaluations focusing on federal, state, provincial, and local governments in the United States and Canada. His published research has appeared in the American Journal of Evaluation as well as the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. He is currently a member of the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation.

In 1993, Dr. McDavid won the University of Victoria Alumni Association Teaching Award. In 1996, he won the J. E. Hodgetts Award for the best English-language article published in Canadian Public Administration. From 1990 to 1996, he was Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria. In 2004, he was named a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Victoria and was also Acting Director of the School of Public Administration during that year. In addition to teaching online courses in the School of Public Administration Graduate Certificate in Evaluation Program, he is a member of the Evaluation Advisory Committee for the Canadian International Development Agency.

Laura R. L. Hawthorn holds a Master of Arts degree in Canadian history from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Victoria. After completing her MPA, she worked as a manager for several years in the British Columbia public service and non-profit sector before leaving to raise a family. She is currently living in Vancouver, working on her horse farm and being mom to her two small boys.