OPM Announces Government-wide Survey on Program Evaluation Work
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is further implementing Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 with an occupational program evaluation study. Federal employees who perform program evaluations or management analysis and their supervisors received a job analysis survey on September 20, 2021.
Under the 2018 Act, statistical data on the effectiveness of government programs must be accessible to lawmakers to ensure federal programs are working properly. Under the law, OPM must identify skills and competencies needed to evaluate government programs and report human capital concerns to Congress.
To do so, OPM will use this Program Evaluation Workforce and Job Analysis Employee and Supervisor Survey to develop a Program Evaluation Competency Model.
The memo announcing the survey explains, “Developing a competency model for program evaluation work is a key step towards ensuring Federal agencies can attract, recruit, and hire skilled employees to accomplish program evaluation work.”
The survey follows the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) March 10, 2020, memorandum (M-20-12), which streamlines standard evaluation practices for federal agencies, including “relevance and utility, rigor, independence and objectivity, transparency, and ethics.”
In addition to federal employment history, the survey seeks to identify competencies and rate tasks required for various government positions. OPM will classify crucial skills, update or establish new job series, and foster innovative career development for agency program evaluation.
