Program Appraisal: A Value Based Preference Modelling Approach

The appraisal of policies and programs are both complex and challenging. This is largely due to the scale, uncertainty and number of dimensions that must be considered when making judgments and determining value. In addition, there are competing, often conflicting values, multiple objectives and stakeholders, and the presence of both hard and soft factors. Finding an overall measure of value and establishing preference structures amongst decision-makers amidst this turmoil continues to be a real challenge and emphasises the need for considering value in terms other than pure cost. This paper describes a decision support framework that integrates multi-attribute value analysis and stated preference techniques for appraising complex programs. The approach is a composite framework that structures stakeholder values, objectives and attributes and assists in the development of experimental designs to determine the preference and value structures amongst decision-makers.