Impact measurement, helping public management

Governments make decisions regarding public resources based on someone's idea, on the perception of how that public policy is going to affect people, on previous experience, on how things are, but they are usually not scientifically based or focused on effectiveness. The challenge of the impact evaluation is to respond to the question of what would have happened if the beneficiary of a public policy would not have received it. 

The PILAR (for its acronym in Spanish) initiative (Policy, Innovation, Learning, Results) seeks to support governments so that impact evaluations may be used as a tool for public management. To do so, by using a random selection the initiative looks for beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the public policy to be evaluated. The difference between the two will show the impact. 

To make a good measurement, it is essential to determine the variables to be evaluated, which will depend on the context or the evaluator's interest. For example, if the impact of patrolling hot spots is to be measured, the rate of homicides or the level of the crime will be evaluated. 

There is a difference between monitoring and impact measurement. The first establishes if a program was fully implemented or not, and the latter measures the effect the program has. A good monitoring is important for impact evaluations. 

The most important result of this tool is what it generates in institutions, to be able to learn. The objective of the PILAR initiative is to support this type of programs in the region, and to transform it into a tool for public management that provides effectiveness and saves resources.