Evaluation Dispute Resolution Programs: Traps for the Unwary

Abstract

I have served both as an independent scholar doing field research and as an evaluator doing work for an agency pursuant to a contract (sometimes called contract research in the university setting). In the course of my career, I have worked with data from the American Arbitration Association, the United States Postal Service, the U.S. Department of the Air Force, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Review Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and JAMS. The following scenarios reflect general lessons learned; the events described have been to some extent fictionalized to avoid attribution to any particular agency or provider. I have included a complete bibliography of my published work for those who would play sleuth to match scenarios with agencies.