Value for Money: A Utilization-focused Approach to Extending the Foundation and Contribution of Economic Evaluation

Publication date: Available online 12 February 2020Source: Evaluation and Program PlanningAuthor(s): Christina Peterson, Gary SkolitsAbstractValue for Money (VfM) is an evaluative question about the merit, worth, and significance of resource use in social programs. Although VfM is a critical component of evidence-based programming, it is often overlooked or avoided by evaluators and decision-makers. A framework for evaluating VfM across the dimensions of economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and equity has emerged in response to limitations of traditional economic evaluation. This framework for assessing VfM integrates methods for engaging stakeholders in evaluative thinking to increase acceptance and utilization of evaluations that address questions of resource use. In this review, we synthesize literature on the VfM framework and position it within a broader theory of Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE). We then examine mechanisms through which the VfM framework may contribute to increased evaluation use. Finally, we outline avenues for future research on VfM evaluation.
Source: Evaluation and Program Planning - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research