Understanding Society is launching a new policy evaluation project with an event in London and online on 13 October: Are we making a difference?
The aim is to build awareness among researchers and policy audiences of the potential of multi-topic panel data in evaluating policy. The October event is the first of two events on policy evaluation, and will mark the launch of a wider project demonstrating uses of the data, sharing findings and offering Policy Evaluation Fellowships.
Raj Patel, Understanding Society’s Associate Director, Policy, says: “Only 8% of major government projects are robustly evaluated, according to the National Audit Office, and 64% are not evaluated at all. As a result, it is not always clear how national policies are making a difference to the lives of citizens..
“Policy evaluations and social impact assessments are a vital tool for improving services, resources, opportunities and outcomes. There are still many barriers to undertaking and using evaluative evidence, though, including lack of political demand, lack of incentives for departments, and capacity concerns. Governments of course have to respond to events as they unfold, but learning lessons play an important role in the durability, coherence and legitimacy of policies.”
Previous examples of Understanding Society data being used in policy evaluation include:
- Cardiff University research assessing the plastic carrier bag charge, which found it increased bag re-use, but did not encourage other pro-environmental behaviours
- the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ investigation of the health effects of Sure Start which showed it had major health benefits for children in poorer neighbourhoods
- Researchers in Northern Ireland, examining the health impacts of the Northern Ireland Regeneration Programme, found that on the whole area-based initiatives may not achieve health gains beyond mainstream service provision, though they may safeguard against widening of health disparities.
Understanding Society hopes the project will support other initiatives such as What Works Network, changes to HM Treasury’s Green Book – its guidance on how to appraise and evaluate policies, projects and programmes – and the establishment of the Evaluation Task Force in the Cabinet Office.
Find out more and register for the launch event
Politics and social attitudesTransport and environment
