THE TASK FORCE ON ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION HAS BEEN CHARGED TO RECOMMEND THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS FOR ASSESSING AND EVALUATING THE SHORT-TERM ACTIVITIES AND THE LONG-TERM ACHIEVEMENTS OF ACTION FOR BOSTON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE TASK FORCE ARE--THE ANALYSIS OF DATA RELEVANT FOR EVALUATING DAY-BY-DAY DECISION-MAKING, ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AT INTERVALS DETERMINED BY ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION, AND EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM AT ITS TERMINATION OR AT A FIXED TIME. WITHIN THESE OBJECTIVES, FIVE POSSIBLE AREAS OF ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION CAN BE IDENTIFIED--CITIZEN PARTICIPATION, THE ADEQUACY OF INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS, ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, THE TOTAL PROGRAM, AND URBAN RENEWAL. THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM OF ABCD CAN RELY UPON A RICH RESERVE OF RESEARCH TALENT IN BOTH THE UNIVERSITIES AND EXISTING AGENCIES. ACCESS TO THESE RESERVES DEPENDS UPON THE CREATION OF AN APPROPRIATE MECHANISM TO COORDINATE THE MAJOR RESEARCH AND EVALUATIVE RESOURCES. THIS COORDINATION WILL NECESSARILY BE RELATED TO URBAN RENEWAL NEEDS, BUT WILL ALSO PERFORM AN IMPORTANT COMMUNITY FUNCTION BY INTERRELATING THE OPERATIONS OF RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER. TWO MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REPORTED BY THE TASK FORCE. THE FIRST IS THAT ABCD SHOULD ESTABLISH AN EXAMINING COMMITTEE WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SECURING INDEPENDENT, PERIODIC EVALUATION OF THE PROGRESS TOWARD ITS AGREED-UPON GOALS. SECONDLY, ABCD SHOULD ESTABLISH A SMALL RESEARCH UNIT DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE TO THE ADMINISTRATOR WITH A DUAL FUNCTION--(A) THE MAINTENANCE OF A SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE CENTER UTILIZING ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION-MAKING, RESOURCES OF PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS, AND FORMAL RESEARCH, (B) THE MOBILIZATION OF COMMUNITY RESEARCH RESOURCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ABCD.