Impact Evaluation:

This type of evaluation is what is more commonly perceived as a policy evaluation. The objective of this type of evaluation is to determine whether or not a given public policy or program is in fact achieving the intended impact as visualized by the various policy actors who either supported or opposed the given policy. Using the welfare example once again as discussed above this type of evaluation would answer the question what happened to the people who used to receive the welfare benefits and who have been forced off the system because they are no longer eligible. Did they find employment? Did they find other means of charity? Have they migrated to a life of crime? ìIn comparison [with outcome evaluation], impact evaluation is concerned with assessing whether the target population is being affected in any way by the introduction and implementation of the policy. There is also concern with the impact of the program on the original problem being addressedÖfor it is important for both [policyólevel managers and policy designers] to ascertain whether target populations are appropriately receiving delivery of a program (Theodoulou and Kofinis, 2004, 194).î

Cost-Benefit Analysis:

Simply stated, a cost-benefit analysis is the comparison of the costs associated with a policy or program to the benefits generated by the policy. Continuing with the welfare example cited above in the two previous definitions, the tangible cost of a new welfare policy with a goal to reduce the number of welfare recipients could be accurately evaluated to include agency operating costs and the actual monetary cost of the benefits that are provided to welfare recipients. However, the cost-benefit analysis technique is controversial because it is extremely difficult to calculate the intangible costs such as those borne by those individuals who are no longer eligible to receive welfare benefits as a result of the new policy to restrict the number of people on the welfare roles. Additionally, the intangible costs borne by society such as the potential for increased crime or increased public health care costs or the long-term loss of employment opportunity and participation in the market place by those individuals who may have been able to pull themselves out of poverty if they were still eligible for welfare assistance are extremely difficult to calculate. All too often the cost-benefit analysis technique is used because actual real-world costs are easy to obtain, quantify, evaluate, and contrast against a variety of metrics or other policies or programs. Unfortunately, many intangible benefits, such as the advantages gleaned by a well-educated society, may not be readily visible for many years to come, and some intangible benefits are impossible to quantify such as the quality of life. Policy evaluators must constantly be aware that the costs and benefits used in any evaluation may not accurately, if at all, represent the real impact of a given policy or program. Instead, a cost-benefit analysis should be employed as one of several methods used to determine the efficacy or efficiency of government action.