Pilot evaluation report: Drive Forward Foundation

Summary

This is the final report of the pilot evaluation of the Drive Forward Foundation Supporting Care Leavers into Employment intervention.

The programme supported 236 young people aged 16 to 24 in London who were not in employment, education or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming NEET.

The support delivered was individualised to the needs of each young person and included:

• one-to-one support from a career specialist,
• mentoring
• networking opportunities
• skills workshops
• social events
• counselling

The evaluation was conducted by King’s College London.

This work is part of our of our What Works programme.

Study aims ​

To understand:

• how the programme was delivered
• the outcomes that participants achieved
• the mechanisms through which outcomes were achieved
• Whether the programme would be suitable for a full impact evaluation (i.e. a randomised controlled trial or quasi-experimental design)

Evaluation approach

There were three strands:

1. A mobilisation / design phase to understand the programme’s theory of change and young people’s participant journeys; and to explore the extent to which existing evidence supported DFF’s approach;
2. A programme evaluation to explore how, and whether, the programme works in achieving its desired impacts;
3. An impact feasibility study to explore options for future impact evaluation.

The evaluation drew on evidence from:

• Management Information
• Observations
• Surveys and interviews with programme participants
• Interviews with Drive Forward staff

Key insights

The mechanisms set out on the Theory of Change were seen as plausible by staff and participants.

The elements of the programme which were considered most impactful included the one-to-one sessions with career specialists; the opportunities to build sector connections and access ring-fenced opportunities; and access to counselling.

Data limitations restricted the analysis that could be done in relation to the connection between engaging with DFF and participants achieving the outcomes outlined in the Theory of Change. However, there were signs of promise – particularly with regards to the number of participants who were in education, employment or training following participation in the programme.

Based on the findings from the feasibility study, YFF decided that the ‘Supporting Care Leavers into Employment’ programme was suitable to take forward an impact evaluation.