Praktyczne aspekty realizacji ewaluacji w jednostkach samorządu terytorialnego

The more and more popular opinion that provision of public services must not be ineffective while objectives and the related expenses should be rational and justified, results in continuous evolution of public administration – starting up with goal orientation, through introduction of various types of measures and indicators, to end up with systems of effectiveness measurement and optimisation. The private sector turned up to be the natural source of patterns and practical solutions, as being forever oriented towards profit maximisation and cost-effectiveness. The resulting trend of modern public management represents the effort aimed at implementation of business management methods in the public sector. The idea has been implemented at many levels which, however – with considerable simplification – has come to management according to the Deming cycle. In other words, each project should be carried out according to the sequence: plan → do → examine → apply. Consequently, management by objectives, strategic planning, benchmarking, managerial control, performance budget, audit and evaluation emerged in administration. It is the last concept which will be discussed in this publication because the managers of the public sector (frequently coming from business environment) increase the pressure on results of their own and their co-workers’ activities. As a consequence of this approach, it becomes necessary to measure results of civil servants’ work as well as of programmes and projects executed by them. This trend has become more intensive since the moment the Polish state started to absorb and administer resources from the European Union as the programme guidelines and books of procedures of individual managing institutions have enforced evaluation of effectiveness of the EU money utilisation. This stimulus has generated considerations on broader application of evaluation procedures, also in the areas which are not directly related to EU funds administration. The present publication will comprise observations of the authors, based on practical experience, concerning the pragmatic aspects of implementation of evaluation processes in various areas of activity of the territorial self-government units. The authors will approach both the objectives the evaluators are usually faced with and the areas in which the evaluation is or might be applied. Setting the required effects of evaluation against the capacity of the public sector, and considering the legal framework of the territorial self-government units, the authors will indicate the ways evaluation may be conducted as well as – which is even more essential – the complications resulting from the methods adopted. First of all, the procedural aspect of acquisition of the evaluation service will be analysed, with special consideration to procedures, conditions and criteria required by the public procurement law and the related bylaws. Methods of reaching the evaluation effects by the territorial self-government units, alternative to the tendering procedures, will be also considered. On the basis of the above considerations, the authors will develop two groups of conclusions. Statutory ones, connected with the methods of acquisition of this service which are best adjusted to the objectives set, and general ones, covering the proposals of broader application of evaluation in the public sector management process.