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Evaluation
This content aligns with the Strategy, Policy & Evaluation craft
Contents
Robust evaluation is critical at all stages of policy development to achieve desired strategic outcomes. Outcomes must be reviewed and tested regularly to ensure they are on track to being achieved.
Latest news
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Comcare is helping APS leaders and their teams to redesign their work using Curtin University’s SMART work design framework.
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Futures thinking equips leaders with the tools to craft adaptable, innovative policies that serve both current and future generations. Discover how to upskill in futures and strategic foresight to transform your approach.
Upcoming events
This course is delivered on 08/10/2025, by face-to-screen consisting of one 2.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 23/10/2025, by face-to-face consisting of one 8-hour session.
This course is delivered on 19/11/2025, by face-to-screen consisting of one 3.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 11/12/2025, by face-to-screen consisting of one 8-hour session.
This course is delivered on 04/03/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 3.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 05/03/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 8-hour session.
This course is delivered on 05/03/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 2.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 16/03/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 3.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 09/04/2026, by face-to-face consisting of one 8-hour session.
This course is delivered from 29/04/2026 to 30/04/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of two 3.5-hour sessions.
This course is delivered on 07/05/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 2.5-hour session.
This course is delivered on 13/05/2026 - 14/05/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of two 3.5-hour sessions.
This course is delivered on 14/05/2026, by face-to-screen consisting of one 8-hour session.
This course is delivered on 10/06/2026, by face-to-face consisting of one 8-hour session.
Courses
Learn the essential skill of making good administrative decisions that are consistent with legal and policy frameworks is an essential skill. Examine legal authorities, case studies and how to review decisions.
This course introduces APS staff to benefits realisation management and provides practical examples of its application.
Takes an in-depth look at decision-making and the skills required to design, develop and deliver a briefing across a range of scenarios. Learn effective briefing techniques and workshop approaches.
Gain skills to help analyse key legal, democratic, and ethical principles that should underpin the actions of regulators as stewards of the regulatory system.
This course introduces APS staff to evaluation in the Australian Government context. Concepts are covered with Commonwealth Evaluation Policy principles and practical examples.
This course introduces public servants to program logic models for policy, project and program development, implementation and evaluation. Program logic models are visual tools for thinking about the way an intervention is intended to create a desired change.
This course will assist APS policy, program and project staff to understand what randomisation is and how to apply it in their own work.
This course is designed to enhance data leadership knowledge and capability, focusing on the role data plays in the work of the public service and critical issues that impact on the availability, integrity and use of data.
This module teaches the capability to forecast workforce demand and supply. Forecasting is used in all types of workforce planning to inform decisions about the future.
The Workforce Planning Boost Program is a collection of modules that target the development of technical workforce planning skills. These units have been co-designed by the APS Centre of Excellence for Workforce Planning, with workforce planning experts and academics from across Australia.
This module is about identifying job roles that are crucial to achieving organisational outcomes and become a priority for workforce planning efforts. It’s a foundational concept for workforce planning.
In this module, participants will apply workforce planning to determine crucial capabilities and understand the organisational culture required to meet future business needs.
This module explores organisational design and job design in the context of workforce planning. Participants will also explore smarter and different ways of working due to external change and disruption.
This module explores practical tools and techniques to undertake program management, to effectively support workforce planning implementation including governance, monitoring evaluation and iteration.
Resources
BetterEvaluation is a site fostering international collaboration which supports the improvement, practice and theory of evaluation.
Building APS capability to use futures techniques in policymaking through horizon scanning, visioning and scenario planning.
This Hub supports APS staff to efficiently and effectively evaluate their agency's learning evaluation activities. It includes practical guides and templates, case studies showcasing APS agency practices, and resources.
Services Australia’s Program Practice Frameworks can be used as standalone resources, or as suite of connected products to support staff when managing programs and projects, engaging with stakeholders and conducting analysis. The Frameworks feature focus areas which include a set of guidelines, applied tools, resources and links to other relevant and appropriate materials.
The Style Manual is for everyone who writes, edits or approves Australian Government content. Use it to create clear and consistent content that meets the needs of users.
The Office for Women supports the government’s gender equality priorities and steward gender responsive budgeting by supporting the APS to build gender analysis capability.
The APS Academy has through Cathy Fussell created a series of, ‘How to…’ articles to provide guidance on what information and avenues are available.
The APS Data Professional video library includes the series ‘In Conversation with Dr Gruen’ along with past Data Profession Technical Forums. Hear about the experiences and lessons learned by agencies and data professionals in the Australian Public Service (APS).
Data.gov.au is the central source of Australian open government data. Anyone can access the anonymised public datasets, publicly-funded research data and datasets from private institutions that are in the public interest.
Using data and digitisation for oversight and enforcement is increasingly part of the work of most regulators. This recorded panel discussion gives an overview for regulators who are not data specialists. Recorded in May 2022.
The Open Policy Making Toolkit is a product of the UK Government's Open Policy Lab. Access a range of tools and techniques to assist the policy development process.
This OECD publication discusses how evaluation can help governments improve the design and implementation of public policies for better outcomes.
A twelve page template to document your evaluation strategy.
A menu of questions to inform your evaluation strategy.
A template to plan out your evaluation, including the questions you’ll ask and what data you’ll collect.
A one page template to plot out how your policy is intended to work. It will help you understand the relationships between resources, activities and outcomes of the policy, which is critical to a successful evaluation.
The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)’s eLearning Hub is an online learning resource for behavioural insights.
Behavioural insights tools assist understanding human behaviour, which can inform policy design.
The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA), is the Australian Government's central unit for applying behavioural insights (BI) to public policy.
The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)’s Academic Directory is a directory of Australian behavioural economics and behavioural science academics, including their contact details and research interests.
Templates to help articulate your policy proposal and policy idea.
Questions to test if your advice is clear on intent, well informed, practical to implement and influential.
An issues tree is a structured way to break problems down and plan what needs to be considered in relation to the issue.
The ‘Integrity Good Practice Guide’ includes a range of practical examples of how you can contribute to a pro-integrity culture.
This Australian Government resource is designed to build evaluation into everyday practice across the APS.
This video was recorded in April 2022 at the APS Academy’s Craft Conversations event for the craft of Strategy, Policy and Evaluation.
This resource guides users through methods to answer their evaluation questions and provides tools to plan and implement an evaluation.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention from the United States Government offers useful resources and insights into the discipline of evaluation.