An Assessment of the Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA) Model of Program Evaluation for Australian Government Communication Campaigns: A Social Marketing Perspective (2008)

The issue of government communication campaigns is currently generating a great deal of attention from academics, public policy makers and stakeholders. The Australian federal government recommends that departments use the Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA) framework for program evaluation. Since its introduction in 1994 this framework has been used with little review or regard to the changing environment surrounding its use. Therefore, this paper raises the emerging question: is the DoFA program evaluation model adequate and effective in achieving the goals set for this purpose? The findings of this exploratory research suggest that the paucity of data on wider social parameters calls into question the overall appropriateness and effectiveness of the DoFA model for campaign evaluation. The paper identifies the methodological and transparency limitations of the available data and identifies the future research potential in this field. Introduction The issue of Government public communication campaigns is attracting renewed attention in Australia (Young 2007, Kiely 2007). There is increasing interest within the community relating to public accountability and transparency for Australian government communication campaigns (The Democratic Audit of Australia 2008, Senate report on Government advertising and accountability 2005). In 2006/7 the Australian Government spent $220 Million on advertising in the mass media (B&T 28 March 2008 p28). A significant proportion of the $127million per annum advertising expenditure commissioned by the Australian government is directed towards goals identified as social marketing (Grant 2004). If it was one company, the Australian Government would be the largest enterprise purchasing mass media advertising and public relations services. The Australian Government has recommended that departments use the Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA) evaluation model (1994) to monitor the elements of government policy initiatives. The DoFA guidelines also cover the evaluation of government advertising and public relations activities that support broader program aims. There is some evidence of non compliance by departments and agencies with the DoFA evaluation guidelines. A routine part of the reporting mechanism for the DoFA evaluation protocols was provision of summary reports known as Program Evaluation Plans (PEP). Di Francesco (1996) reported that in only five out of 18 government departments provided PEP reports to DoFA that year. The PEP reports were subsequently abandoned in 1999 and evaluation was left to the Departments to administer within the overall aegis of the DoFA guidelines. Both the Office of Government Information and Advertising (OGIA) until 1998 and the Government Communication Unit (GCU), have recommended that departments allocate up to 10% of their campaign budget to the research and evaluation of the promotion campaigns. However, the last time data was publicly available Charlton (1996) reported that only a small