Measuring Performance of the National IPM Program

Governments at the national and state levels through directives, rules, and laws are placing high priority on the development and implementation of accountability systems. Such systems are based on performance measurements, including setting goals and objectives and measuring progress toward achieving them. Accordingly, federally funded IPM program activity performance must be evaluated. The establishment of measurable IPM goals and the development of methods to measure progress toward achieving the goals should be appropriate to the specific IPM activity undertaken. Performance measures may be conducted on a pilot scale or on a geographic scale and scope that corresponds to an IPM program or activity. Examples of potential performance measures follow.

Outcome: The adoption of IPM practices improves economic benefits to users.

Performance Measures:

In cooperation with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), design a national IPM practices adoption survey based on IPM protocols designed for specific commodities or sites within program priorities.
Evaluate IPM programs on their ability to improve economic benefits using pilot studies within specific program priority sites and project these economic results to a regional or national basis to predict large-scale impacts using results of the practices adoption survey.
Develop measures of public awareness of IPM.

Outcome: Potential human health risks from pests and the use of pest management practices are reduced.

Performance Measures:

Using EPA's reduced risk category of pesticides as the standard, document changes in pesticide use patterns over time and relate the changes to IPM practice adoption.
Relate dietary exposure to pesticides to IPM practice adoption using USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Pesticide Data Program (PDP) and any other available data.
Relate cases of the negative human health impacts caused by pest incidence (for example, asthma cases related to cockroach infestation, insect vectored diseases, allergic reactions to plants) to IPM practice adoption.

Outcome: Unreasonable adverse environmental effects from pests and the use of pest management practices are reduced.

Performance Measures:

Document and relate pesticide levels in specific ground and surface water bodies, including community water supplies, to IPM practice adoption using data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and others.
Document and relate national indicators of natural resource health such as proportion of ground and surface water bodies with pest management-related contaminants and level of contamination to IPM practice adoption, using data from EPA and others.
Measure the impact of IPM practice adoption on encroachment of selected invasive species in national park lands and other sites where data are available.

For more information, contact Sandra Sardanelli

Last updated: 03/10/2009