Outside consultants may be hired to do evaluations if personnel is not available in-house. In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the cost-effectiveness of programs. In a less formal way, evaluation takes place through communication from the field. They will encourage the headquarters in Washington to change those policies that aren't working well. Change can come from new agency regulations or from asking the Congress to change the statute.
Evaluation is the end of one policymaking cycle and the beginning of another.
As information about program shortcomings reach policymakers, consideration of new policies to address those shortcomings begins. Sources of policy initiation A. Policymaking does not always begin as part of the predictable cycle described above. B. Roger Cobb and Charles Elder use the concept of triggering devices to explain how some issues got onto the political agenda. Agitation by miners led to some government action. Terrorism in the past few years has caused our government and others to take action.