The National Legislative Program Evaluation Society is proud to join NCSL in celebrating 50 years of advancing the effectiveness, independence and integrity of state legislatures.
NLPES is open to all legislative staff who conduct program evaluations or performance audits. It strives to advance those professions and provide members with relevant training, opportunities for exchanging ideas and information, and recognition for superior performance.
The Society’s Beginnings
Origins of NLPES. The late 1960s and early 1970s were marked by growing concerns about the legislature’s ability to serve as a coequal branch of state government. Academics and policy experts saw state legislatures as poorly staffed, overly dependent on executive branch agencies and lobbyists for information, and lacking capacity for program oversight, strategic planning and innovation.
Legislative program evaluation and performance auditing were part of the reform movement that ensued, providing tools to hold government agencies and programs accountable to the legislatures that create and fund them and to the public that uses their services. In 1973, reflecting rising interest in the field, legislative staff from 10 states formed the Legislative Program Evaluation Society under the Government Research Association. In 1975, LPES joined NCSL, becoming one of NCSL’s original staff associations. Several years later, LPES officially changed its name to the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society.
NLPES faced some internal struggles in its early years. Some legislative audit offices were uncomfortable with NLPES’ focus on performance auditing and its roots outside of accounting. In what was dubbed the “War of Standards,” some members wanted all offices to follow specific standards, such as the U.S. Government Accountability Office Yellow Book, while others objected. NLPES members debated the principles that would guide the growing field of program evaluation and performance auditing—which professional standards to follow, how to serve the legislature while maintaining objectivity and independence, and how to apply evaluation tools from a range of disciplines. The membership eventually agreed that offices could choose their own professional standards.
Through NLPES’ constant efforts to develop and refine the techniques of legislative program evaluation—and to meet legislators’ needs for valid, relevant and objective information about program design and results—early concerns about this new discipline have faded. Today, state legislatures nationwide have embraced program evaluation and performance auditing, due in part to NLPES initiatives to provide training, create professional networks, and highlight outstanding legislative evaluation reports. Today, NLPES has almost 1,000 members from 43 states.
Fulfilling Its Purposes
Through the years, NLPES has maintained a strong commitment to fulfilling its purposes.
Provide training and professional development. In 1987, NLPES launched its annual professional development seminar. The PDS brings together legislative evaluators from across the country for conversations with leaders in the field, training sessions on audit topics and techniques, and opportunities for networking and informal discussion. The first PDS was held in Minneapolis and hosted by the Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s office. The 2024 PDS, hosted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office in New Orleans, welcomed 158 members.
Another step forward came in the early 2000s when NLPES launched its peer review program, which deploys teams of legislative evaluators to offices that request an external review of their processes and products—helping ensure that we hold ourselves accountable. Florida’s Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability was first to go under the microscope, in 2002. Since then, NLPES has provided more than 30 peer reviews.
More recently, NLPES launched a year-round program of professional development webinars and calls. These supplement training and networking opportunities provided through the PDS, and they have been especially helpful to offices with limited travel budgets for staff.
Reflecting its commitment to keep innovating, NLPES started a peer exchange program in 2023. The program sends evaluation staff from one state to a host state for one to three days to learn about and observe the host state’s evaluation procedures and practices.
Share ideas and information. In the 1970s, long before email and the internet (and even before fax machines), NLPES created a key contact list, built a report clearinghouse library where members could borrow report copies through the mail and started a newsletter called the NLPES News. In the 1990s, NLPES rode the wave of technological change by establishing a listserv to promote communication among members and launching a website. Last year, NLPES switched to NCSL Groups (Breezio), a collaborative platform that allows members to post questions, share information, and create subgroups of interest. The newsletter, now called The Working Paper, is published biannually and posted online.
Recognize outstanding performance. The NLPES awards program started in 1981 with the Excellence in Evaluation Award (for offices that have made sustained and significant contributions to the fields of program evaluation or performance auditing). The awards program has since grown to include the Excellence in Research Methods Award, Certificate of Impact, and Outstanding Achievement Award.
The first winners of the Excellence in Evaluation Award (1981) were the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. The first person to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award (1999) was Judith Frye of the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau. When NLPES introduced Certificates of Impact in 1998, 12 states earned the award; in 2024, 23 states received this honor. Does that trend reflect the increasing impact of our profession? We certainly hope so!
Looking Ahead
NLPES is proud and gratified to have been a part of NCSL’s efforts to professionalize and strengthen state legislatures. As we celebrate 50 years of NCSL and NLPES, we look forward to the next 50 years of pursuing excellence in legislative evaluation and performance auditing.