The vast majority of United States Federal government evaluations are conducted by contractors, so policies and issues related to effective practices for government evaluation contracting are critical. This presentation will summarize the results of an expert panel that addressed challenges in contracting for evaluation work, particularly in the United States federal government, and proposed useful, specific solutions. Throughout the presentation audience members will be asked to provide examples of additional challenges and successful solutions from their own work.   

Presenter: David J. Bernstein, Ph.D. is a senior study director with Westat, an employee-owned social science research company based in Rockville, Maryland. He has over 30 years of professional experience designing, managing, and conducting projects related to evaluation, performance measurement, strategic planning, data analysis, public administration, and educational research for government, nonprofit, and private sector clients. Dr. Bernstein is President-Elect of Washington Evaluators, the American Evaluation Association Washington, DC-area affiliate.

Discussant: Kathryn E. Newcomer, Ph.D. is the director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University.  She teaches public and nonprofit program evaluation, and research design. She routinely conducts program evaluations for U.S. federal government agencies and nonprofit organizations, and conducts training on program evaluation in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Newcomer has published five books and over 50 articles in journals including the American Journal of Evaluation. Dr. Newcomer served on the American Evaluation Board from 2011 to 2014, and is a past President of Washington Evaluators.    

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