Measuring government ROI

InfoWorld reports that SAP executives have said that “struggle to define and measure the economic, social and political returns of government-funded technology programs”. At the root of this, of course, is the desire of vendors like SAP to help government justify investment in IT solutions that support their programs but it’s an excellent goal all the same. Just how do you measure the return on investment when the outcomes are as diverse as better-educated children, a more efficient transportation system, and (in the case of warfare, which is the domain of government) a minimization of collateral damage?