Evaluating the Economic and Social Impact of Vocational Rehabilitation Programs in Victoria

The purpose of this paper is to identify some key issues involved in developing economic and societal impact indicators for vocational rehabilitation outcomes. A case study approach is adopted which focuses on the role and performance of the Victorian Accident Rehabilitation Council (VARC)—a key agency in the recently established (September, 1985) WorkCare system in the State of Victoria. This paper is, in part, an outgrowth of a recently completed management review of VARC (Parliamentary Joint Committee on WorkCare, 1988), but it also reflects a number of longstanding concerns by the author in the specification of objectives and performance indicators—internal, client specific, and societal—of public agencies. VARC has not been singled out because its approach and commitment to performance indicators is significantly different than those of other agencies in Victoria or other public sector jurisdictions in Australia, but because it is, in fact, typical.