What works in systems change interventions?

Summary

The study was conducted by the Institute for Employment Studies and the Global Development Network and reviewed the literature on systems change interventions, with a focus on youth employment. The research was commissioned to inform the approach taken by Connected Futures – Youth Futures’ flagship systems change programme.

The report investigates effective principles and practices for interventions that aim to shape and transform England’s complex youth empoyment system so that better outcomes can be achieved for young people.

The review uses three candidate examples of changes in the youth employment system – raising the participation age (RPA), reforms to the Careers Information Advice and Guidance system (CIAG) and the Kickstart scheme – to provide key learnings.

The findings are captured in a final ‘checklist’ to support actors wanting to deliver systems change ranging from how to plan, implement, monitor and learn throughout the process.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Defining systems change – outlines different aspects and discusses the evidence on the policy and intervention rationales that drive systems change interventions
3. Effectiveness in systems change – discusses the evidence on how
   effectiveness is defined
4. Levers of systems change – discusses the evidence on four key levers of systems change, including interest alignment and shared vision, service user voice, funding mechanisms, and power and relationships
5. Applying systems change in practice – discusses the evidence on the design features and infrastructure of systems change interventions
6. Systems change in the England education and youth employment landscape – discusses policies and interventions with a systems change focus in the England context focusing on three case studies (Raising of the Participation Age, Careers Information, Advice and Guidance, and Kickstart)
7. Lessons for systems change – discusses learning from the evidence included in the review to discuss key lessons for effective systems change.