The Division of Evaluation and Systematic Assessments (DESA) will plan, conduct, coordinate, and support program evaluations, including but not limited to:

• Institute and Center-specific program and project evaluations;
• Trans-NIH evaluations, including NIH Roadmap initiatives;
• Systematic assessments such as those required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the OMB Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART).

The activities of the DESA will inform strategic planning and the coordination and evaluation of the NIH research agenda and portfolio, and provide essential information for determining NIH-wide resource allocations. The Division will establish, monitor, and report on GPRA performance goals and annual measures to track progress; ensure accountability and transparency in the implementation of the President’s Management Agenda and the OMB PART process; develop and coordinate performance efficiency measures to document a system designed to improve performance in all areas of portfolio analysis and resource management; improve NIH performance by evaluating key initiatives and strategic objectives and tracking outcomes and recommendations; develop the theoretical framework and methodologies to evaluate organizational performance and demonstrate organizational effectiveness; and provide oversight and stewardship for the NIH Evaluation Set-Aside Program. The DESA will also strengthen the NIH evaluation community and its access to financial and information resources to better inform trans-NIH and IC-specific priority-setting and program management.

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