7 U.S.C. § 3317 — Program evaluation studies

The Secretary^* shall regularly conduct program evaluations to meet the purposes of this chapter and the responsibilities assigned to the Secretary and the Department of Agriculture^* in this chapter. Such evaluations shall be designed to provide information that may be used to improve the administration and effectiveness of agricultural research^*, extension^*, and teaching^* programs in achieving their stated objectives.

The Secretary is authorized to encourage and foster the regular evaluation of agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs within the State agricultural experiment stations^*, cooperative extension services^*, and colleges and universities, through the development and support of cooperative evaluation programs and program evaluation centers and institutes.