Assessing the impact of federal funding to Swiss Universities: a new performance audit concept

Opportunities and risks must undergo careful assessments in order to survive in the world of globalization. This applies not only to the private but also to the public sector, including governmental, political and educational institutions. New control mechanisms must be developed and implemented to measure and monitor the performance of political programs. These tools primarily employ evaluation techniques and performance indicators. The need for such instruments is most acute in political programs and processes where large sums of money are involved, where little information is available about the recipients of monetary contributions and where significant public emotional involvement is apparent, such as in education, social security or public health issues.