Why establish an Evaluation Panel?
We believe that the key to a successful What Works Programme is to have the highest quality evaluators commissioned to undertake robust process, programme and impact evaluations. As such, all of Youth Futures’ What Works Programme grantees have an independently commissioned evaluation, procured through our expert panel of evaluators.
Our panel went through a competitive selection process before being invited to join. This means we have complete confidence in their ability to successfully deliver the kind of robust, reliable and unbiased methodologies and findings we are looking for, and to use these to good advantage in the policy and practice spheres. The breadth of experience and interests across our panel ensures we can identify the best organisations for the different types of evaluations we have to deliver.
What are the panel’s objectives?
The primary purpose of the panel is to lead our What Works Programme’s evaluations. Panel members support and guide Youth Futures’ evaluation methodologies and the design of evidence-led projects, as well as advising on outcomes and data frameworks. Panel members who secure an evaluation of one of our projects lead the project, keeping in close contact with Youth Futures colleagues, and produce recommendations and publishable reports on their findings.
How do I get involved?
If you think your organisation would be interested in joining our panel, please email [email protected] and a member of our Evaluation team will be in touch. Reports from our current and future evaluations will be published on our website over the coming years.
Which organisations are members?
Our panel is made up of 18 leading organisations with a huge range of experience, skills, and specialities. They are:
Behavioural Insights Team
The Behavioural Insights Team exists to improve people’s lives and communities. They work in partnership with governments, local authorities, businesses, and charities, often using simple changes to tackle major policy problems. BIT generates and applies behavioural insights to inform policy, improve public services and deliver results for citizens and society.
Centre for Evidence and Implementation
The Centre for Evidence and Implementation is an independent, not for profit, evidence intermediary home to a team of research policy and practice experts across Australia, Singapore, and the UK. They work with policy makers, governments, practitioners, program providers, organisation leaders, and funders to understand evidence bases; develop methods and processes to put evidence into practice; and trial, test, and evaluate policies and programmes. In doing so they work to drive more effective decisions that deliver the best possible outcomes for communities.
Cordis Bright and The Runnymede Trust
www.cordisbright.co.uk
www.runnymedetrust.org
Cordis Bright provides consultancy, advice, and research aimed at improving public services, with expertise in children and young people’s services, among others. Part of their mission is to improve the evidence-base from which public services are delivered through various research methods, to support clients in identifying strengths and areas for development by undertaking reviews and evaluations.
The Runnymede Trust is the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank. They generate evidence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement. They work to end racism by designing research-based interventions in social policy and practice and engaging with policymakers, practitioners, and citizens.
Dartington Service Design Lab
Dartington Service Design Lab is a research and design charity dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people. They work in close partnership with those commissioning, designing, or delivering services of children on a range of projects including strategy development, public system reform, evidence reviews, service design and evaluation, and data analysis.
Institute for Employment Studies
The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent centre for research and evidence-based consultancy, providing insights on employment and human resource management topics to help improve policy and practice. They aim to bring about sustainable improvements in employment policy by understanding and improving the practice of key decision makers.
IFF Research
IFF Research is an independent social and market research agency helping their partners across sectors to make informed decisions from reliable insight. They bring together methodologists and policy specialists to design robust evaluations, while ensuring that the voices of harder-to-reach and vulnerable groups are heard in the making of policy decisions which affect them.
Ipsos MORI
Ipsos MORI has designed and led complex process, impact, and economic evaluations on behalf of all UK Government departments. They have an established track record in delivering robust evaluations of policies and programmes aimed at addressing challenging societal problems within a complex policy and delivery landscape. They work to produce accurate and relevant information for clients and turn it into actionable truth.
Learning and Work Institute
Learning and Work Institute is an independent policy, research and development organisation dedicated to lifelong learning, full employment, and inclusion. They work with partners to research what works, influence policy, develop new ways of thinking, and help implement new approaches. In doing so, they transform people’s experiences of both learning and employment.
NatCen Social Research
NatCen Social Research has worked on behalf of government and charities for 50 years to find out what people really think about important social issues and how Britain is run. Their research works to help government and charities make the right decisions about key issues by asking the right questions, of the right people, in the right way.
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research carries out research into the interaction of economic and social forces that affect people’s lives, and to improve the understanding of those forces and the ways in which policy can bring about change. Part of the Centre for Vocational Education Research, the team has substantial experience in evaluating impacts for young people in vocational education including their labour market outcomes.
Policy Evaluation and Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University
The Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University specialises in evaluating policies, programmes, and projects, and advising national and local policy makers on the development of evidence-informed policy. They work across sectors with a key emphasis on methodological rigour.
Policy Institute at King’s College London
www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute
The Policy Institute at King’s College London works to solve society’s challenges with evidence and expertise. They combine the rigour of academia with the agility of a consultancy and the connectedness of a think tank. The team has substantial experience in developing and evaluating programmes, and intimate knowledge of the What Works movement as both organisational leaders and evaluation partners.
RAND Europe
RAND’s mission is to help improve policy and decision making through high-quality, rigorous, and objective research and analysis. They develop solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier, and more prosperous. The team undertakes robust evaluations to generate evidence that is useful to practitioners, relevant to policy makers, and improves outcomes for participants.
Renaisi
Renaisi is a social enterprise working to help people and places to thrive. They do this by supporting people to learn, work and connect with their community; helping organisations to understand and evaluate their impact on communities; and generating learning from across their work to understand what it takes to improve a place. The team has expertise in evaluating place-based programmes, funds, and grants’ impact, believing strongly in the power of place as a tool to understand people and develop meaningful solutions that improve lives.
Social and Economic Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University
www.shu.ac.uk/research/social-economic-research-institute
The Social and Economic Research Institute (SERI) at Sheffield Hallam University is an interdisciplinary research institute committed to cutting-edge, high-quality, and impactful research and innovation which addresses key social, economic, and environmental challenges. It is a leading centre for the research and evaluation of education, employment, and training policies and programmes.
SQW and Bryson Purdon Social Research
SQW provides research, analysis, and advice in economic and social development. Experts in public policy, the team works with clients to research, develop, implement, and evaluate social and economic development interventions across a wide range of policy domains. They seek to push the boundaries of evaluation and to stimulate debate and discussion through active participation and leadership within the evaluation community.
Bryson Purdon Social Research (BPSR) is an independent research partnership specialising in policy and programme impact evaluation and survey methodology across a wide range of policy areas.
The University of Brighton
www.research.brighton.ac.uk/en/organisations/brighton-business-school
Brighton Business School is in the top five in the UK for the impact of their research in business and management. It is a professional business school that offers internationally recognised undergraduate, postgraduate and executive courses across a wide range of business subjects. It also provides services to help organisations develop their people and grow their business.
York Consulting
York Consulting is an economic and social research and evaluation consultancy with over 30 years of experience delivering high-quality services for central government departments, authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, funding bodies, and national and local charities. They operate across a range of policy areas and have a key specialism in the evaluation of skills and employment initiatives involving vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.
