The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1990: How Do We Evaluate Its Success?

With the passage of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, Congress intended to expand the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques throughout the federal government in order to counter overjudicialization of the administrative process. A sunset provision and an evaluation requirement were included in the Act. This article presents analysis of empirical data focusing on implementation of the Act in federal departments and agencies and draws conclusions concerning the organization change strategy implicit in the Act as well as the success of implementation in the initial stages.