Use of Evaluation to Improve Energy Conservation Programs: A Review and Case Study

Abstract

Program evaluation is a powerful tool available to social scientists as they address the multifaceted problems in the field of environmental management. This article focuses on one area of environmental concern—energy conservation—and provides a brief review of the history of social science contributions in that area, together with a detailed case study centering on the very successful Michigan Residential Conservation Service home energy audit program. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate how the Michigan effort emphasized use of evaluation results both to cut program costs and to revise and improve program services. The successes described in this case study suggest that this type of pragmatic evaluation approach might be beneficially applied to other areas of environmental management as well.