EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC PLANS - THE PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLE

Evaluation and implementation studies have a well-established traditio n. For evaluation in general, this tradition seems to offer a clear-cu t research design. This is not true for evaluation of strategic plans. First, most evaluation and implementation research deals with specifi c and well-defined operational policy and not with broad and sometimes vague indicative strategic planning. Second, the means-ends scheme un derlying mainstream evaluation, in which conformance between a plan an d final outcomes is the ultimate test of effectiveness, does not apply . In trying to establish conformance, we not only ask the wrong questi on but also use the wrong unit of analysis. Building on ideas from the planning and evaluation literature, we develop an alternative approac h based on the notion that strategic plans serve the function of signp osts for those involved in subsequent decisions. Our approach entails a test of the effectiveness of strategic plans which reflects their ch aracter; we suggest testing their performance. Empirical research on t he role and purpose of strategic plans shows that 'performance' offers a promising way of understanding how strategic plans relate to interv ention and of judging their usefulness.