A new policy evaluation case study from Understanding Society has examined New Labour’s Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders Programme, which invested £100 million in 35 deprived communities to improve and join up local services.
The research found that there were positive effects of between 10 and 40 percentage points on many of the neighbourhood and housing problems targeted by the policy, including noise, pollution, and damp. However, the observed changes observed were not seen beyond four years after they were first seen. In fact, noise from the street and neighbours, condensation, and damp walls were found to be significantly higher five to six years after the programme. The impact on health was also found to be limited.
A 2013 National Audit Office report found that policy evaluations of interventions in deprived neighbourhoods did not provide convincing evidence of impact, pointing to interviews with those delivering the policy as prone to bias. This research used data from Understanding Society’s predecessor, the British Panel Household Survey (BHPS) to compare people in Pathfinder areas with comparable respondents in areas not covered by the policy. This gave the evaluation objectivity, because respondents could not know that their survey answers would be used to assess the Pathfinders Programme. Also, the longitudinal data allowed the researchers to look at effects over time.
The evaluation shows that evaluating policies only by interviewing people involved, and in the areas concerned, can be misleading. It sets out how policy can be assessed more accurately and objectively in future.
This research used waves 10-18 of the British Household Panel Survey with access via the UK Data Service Secure Lab
Findings and impactInforming PolicySocial mobility
