The Multiattribute Utility (MAU) approach

Stoner, Meadan, Angell and Daczewitz (2012)

Evaluation of the Parent-implemented Communication Strategies (PiCS) project using the Multiattribute Utility (MAU) approach

The Multiattribute Utility (MAU) approach was used to evaluate a project federally funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. The purpose of the evaluation was a formative one, measuring the extent to which the first two (of 3) goals of the project were being met and was completed after the 2^nd year of the project. The project goals were:

(a) develop a home-based naturalistic and visual strategies intervention program that parents can personalize and implement to improve the social-pragmatic communication skills of their young children with disabilities;

(b) evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and social validity of the program; and

(c) disseminate a multimedia instructional program, including prototypes of all materials and methods that diverse parents can implement in their home settings.

MAU was chosen as an approach because it was participant oriented, allowing the parents representatives to have a voice in the evaluation. There are 7 steps for a MAU evaluation and each is discussed in the paper.

1.     Identify the purpose of the project

2.     Identify relevant stakeholders (these individuals will help make decisions about the goals and attributes and their importance)

3.     Identify appropriate criteria to measure each goal and attribute

4.     Assign importance weights to the goals and attributes

5.     Assign utility-weighted values to the measurement scales of each attribute

6.     Collect measurable data on each attribute being measured

7.     Perform the technical analysis

An important item to note under item 3 was that it is important to identify essential attributes within each goal area, not to identify a set number of attributes. For this project, 28 attributes were defined by the stakeholders and 25 were actually found to be met through the evaluation.

For this project the MAU approach was found to be in keeping with one of the core values of the project, that of stakeholder involvement. Four primary benefits of using this approach were identified and one concern. The MAU

(a) was based on the core values of the PiCS project;

(b) engaged all stakeholders, including parents, in developing the evaluation framework;

(c) provided a certain degree of objectivity and transparency; and

(d) was comprehensive.

The primary concern was the length of time and labour required to conduct the evaluation. For this reason the authors believe it may not be applicable for evaluating smaller projects.