Evaluation of Regional Stewardship of Aged Care 2023–26
Clear Horizon receives the 2026 Public Sector Evaluation Award for its Evaluation of Regional Stewardship of Aged Care 2023–26. Combining developmental evaluation with a rigorous value for money approach, the evaluation has supported the Australian Government to strengthen an emerging model of aged care stewardship while building evidence for future investment and decision-making.
The Regional Stewardship of Aged Care initiative was developed by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Clear Horizon assembled a strong evaluation team and worked in partnership with the Department and international experts Kate McKegg and Julian King.
The evaluation combined developmental evaluation and value for money approaches, enabling the team to support the initiative as it evolved while also assessing the value of the government’s investment. A range of methods involved stakeholders in the design, implementation and conduct of the evaluation.
Close collaboration between Clear Horizon and departmental staff also strengthened evaluation capability within the Department and supported continuous improvement in processes and practice.
The evaluation has provided the Department with high-quality evidence to inform future budget and strategic decisions. It has also increased understanding of stewardship, developmental evaluation and value for money approaches.
A comprehensive continuous improvement framework developed through the evaluation has now been adopted by the Department, providing a practical foundation for the initiative’s future development.
About the Public Sector Evaluation Award
This Award recognises exemplary evaluation work conducted within the Australasian public sector that has been used to effect real and observable changes in policies or programs. It recognises the work of all the partners of the evaluation: those who commissioned it, conducted it and implemented its findings.
Work conducted by contractors, consultants or academics employed and managed by a public sector agency is eligible for nomination. However, work conducted wholly by external consultants, academics or contractors without management or oversight by a public sector agency is not eligible.
For the purposes of this Award, the Australasian public sector is defined as the executive branch of government (including quasi-autonomous bodies) at the local, state and national levels, or the administrative arm of the judiciary.
Nominations for this Award must demonstrate that at least one of the following elements was conducted within the Australasian public sector:
- design of the evaluation and evaluation instruments
- fieldwork
- data analysis
- reporting.
Nominations focusing on evaluation systems within public sector agencies will not be considered for this Award; they should be submitted under the Evaluation Systems Award.
Nominations need to explicitly demonstrate how the evaluation work has created observable changes in public sector policies and/or programs.
Nominations need to include evidence showing how the changes have occurred as a result of the process of evaluation or as a result of the evaluation’s findings. Although the changes need not have occurred immediately, nominations will demonstrate a probable causal link between the evaluation process or products, on the one hand, and the changes in policies and/or programs, on the other.
Nominators’ assertions about the extent and nature of the changes created by the evaluation must be supported by documentary evidence, including statements from third parties who are familiar with those changes in policies or practices.