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Program Life Cycle

In general, different types of evaluations are carried out over different parts of a program's life cycle. Accommodating EERE, DOE, and OMB requirements, where they exist, the following illustrates where in the program life cycle EERE programs would plan or consider doing an evaluation

Program Life Cycle Stages
Planning or Early Implementation Stage During Program Operations Stage End of Program Stage
Market/Baseline Assessment: before the program Results-based performance reporting (quarterly and annual Joule; annual PART and CRB)

Peer Reviews—"All EERE programs and their key projects will be reviewed, on average, every two years, depending on the characteristics of the program and needs for information" [Source: EERE Peer Review Guide [August 2004] and Peer Review SOP]

General program evaluations—There is no hard and fast rule on when to conduct general program evaluations studies (process, outcome, impact cost-benefit, or market needs/baseline evaluations). The following are recommended times in a program's life-cycle when it could benefit from a general program evaluation.
  • Process evaulation: once every 2-3 years, or whenever a need exists to assess the efficiency of the program's operations.
  • Outcome or impact evaluation: once every 2-3 years, or annually if results are to be used to support annual GPRA benefits analysis, or other data needs. Impact evaluation - once every 3-5 years.
  • Cost-benefit evaluation: once every 3-5 years.
  • Market Needs/Baseline Assessment: repeated as necessary to determine if there is a continuing need for the program's services, or for identifying new market segments to target.
Technical reviews by Senior Management, Technical Teams, or Advisory Committees are typically held annually.		 Ex-post process, impact, or cost benefit evaluation: Done 1-3 years after the end of the program.

Peer Review

It is helpful to review the quality, relevance and management of EERE programs while they are "in-progress". Such reviews are subject of the EERE In-Progress Peer Review Guide (PDF 1.5 MB). Download Adobe Reader. This Guide suggests that in general, all projects in a given topical portfolio will be considered for peer review, regardless of their stage of maturity, with the primary focus on the key projects, typically comprising 80-90% of the program budget (including earmarks) on average, every two years. Reviews may be held multiple times over the course of a project-to determine if initial assumptions and directions are reasonable, to identify possible mid-course corrections, and to determine if objectives were met.

General Program Evaluation

The table below indicates when a program can benefit from the different types of general program evaluations. It is advisable to conduct a market baseline evaluation while planning a new program and perform the other general evaluations every two to four years thereafter.

Program Life Cycle Stage Recommended Type of General Program Evaluation
Planning or early implementation stage Needs/Market Assessment: before the program is initiated. This evaluation will contribute to program effectiveness by determining the need for the program's services, identifying potential barriers to its prospective objectives, identifying the most needy market segments, identifying possible program partners, and if the program will be designed to change market behavior, establishing a market baseline against which to compare future behavior measurements. If major changes are occurring in external factors that may affect program outcomes, e.g., energy prices and changes in minimum-efficiency standards, a baseline assessment may be needed every 4-7 years to support impact evaluations.
During program operations Process evaluation: once every 2-3 years, or whenever a need exists to assess the efficiency of the program's operations and barriers to its progress. Process evaluations can also be performed at any time to answer ad hoc questions regarding program operations.

Outcome evaluation: once every 2-3 years, or annually if results are to be used to support annual GPRA benefits analysis. Outcome evaluations can also be performed at any time to answer ad hoc questions regarding program outcomes.

Impact evaluation: once every 3-5 years, or annually if results are to be used to support annual GPRA benefits analysis, or as often as cost-benefit analyses will be performed.

Cost-benefit evaluation: once every 3-5 years.

Needs/Market Assessment: repeated as necessary to determine if there is a continuing need for the program's services, or for identifying new market segments to target.
End of program Process and impact evaluations after the program has ended: within one to three years of the end of the program (apply process evaluation lessons to design of next generation programs; use impact evaluation in cost-benefit evaluation).

Cost-benefit evaluation: within one to three years of the end of the program only if needed for accountability.