Policy Analysis & Evaluation Flashcards
7 cards from real FAC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Policy Analysis & Evaluation flashcards as text
An agency's acquisition policy mandates use of firm-fixed-price contracts for all IT development. A policy evaluator finds cost overruns are increasing. What does this most likely indicate?
Answer: The contract type may be mismatched with the level of performance uncertainty in IT development
FFP contracts transfer all cost risk to contractors and are inappropriate when requirements are uncertain, which is common in IT development, leading to price escalation.
Which analytical technique helps policy evaluators determine the minimum benefit a policy must produce to justify its cost?
Answer: Break-even analysis
Break-even analysis calculates the minimum level of benefit (or performance) required for the policy's benefits to equal its costs.
The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) requires federal agencies to designate which two key positions?
Answer: Evaluation Officer and Statistical Official
The Evidence Act requires agencies to designate an Evaluation Officer to coordinate evaluation activities and a Statistical Official to advise on data quality.
When conducting an acquisition policy evaluation, a 'counterfactual' refers to:
Answer: What would have happened in the absence of the policy being evaluated
A counterfactual is the hypothetical scenario representing what outcomes would have occurred if the policy had not been implemented, which is essential for attributing results to the policy.
Under the FAR, which document serves as the primary vehicle for an agency to establish internal acquisition policy that supplements the FAR?
Answer: Agency Supplemental Regulation (e.g., DFARS, HHSAR)
Agency supplemental regulations (such as DFARS for DoD or HHSAR for HHS) are the authorized mechanism for agencies to supplement FAR requirements with agency-specific policy.
A policy analyst uses a 'theory of change' to evaluate a new mentor-protégé program policy. What does the theory of change primarily describe?
Answer: The causal pathway from program activities to intended long-term outcomes
A theory of change maps the causal logic connecting program inputs and activities to short-term outputs and ultimately to long-term outcomes.
Which federal acquisition policy evaluation standard requires that evaluations be conducted with sufficient rigor to support learning and improvement, as outlined in OMB guidance?
Answer: The tiered evidence standards allowing different levels of rigor based on questions and resources
OMB guidance establishes tiered evidence standards, recognizing that different evaluation questions warrant different levels of methodological rigor based on available resources.