The impact of therapeutic effectiveness data on community mental health center management: the systems evaluation project.

A major assumption of C.M.H. evaluation is that data fed back to center managers have an impact on the management, resulting in optimization of programs. This is the empirical question addressed in this paper. A study of the influences bearing on management decisions, the process of decision making, and the effects of introducing evaluation data into that process is described. The concepts, procedures, and instruments are set out as possible models for further investigation of the complex but fundamental question. The data presented are consistent with the hypotheses about the detailed influences of systems evaluation project evaluation data.