The What Works Centres : lessons and insights from an evidence movement / edited by Michael Sanders and Jonathan Breckon ; with a foreword by David Halpern.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sanders, Michael, author.

Contributor:

Breckon, Jonathan, editor.

Halpern, David (David S.), writer of foreword.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Policy sciences--Methodology.

Policy sciences.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiv, 253 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Policy Press, 2023.

Summary:

Leaders, researchers and practitioners from the UK 'What Works Network' share their insights on the successes, failures, and future of the What Works Centres, which have proven successful and popular across a number of policy settings.

Contents:

Front Cover

The What Works Centres: Lessons and Insights from an Evidence Movement

Copyright information

Table of contents

List of figures

List of abbreviations

Notes on contributors

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Part I

1 The scene is set

Why is this?

Notes

References

2 How did we get here? What Works in the UK? A personal journey

What a difference leadership makes

Investment and infrastructure (uneasy collaboration and competition)

The elephant in the room: what was meant by evidence?

Research impact carrots and sticks

Devolution

Learning by doing

Conclusion

Note

3 The role of NICE in the evidence-based health system

The guidelines

Why did it work?

An expanded role

Challenges

How far is NICE a model for others?

4 What works in crime and policing: getting closer to the frontline

Why What Works in a crime and policing context

What success would look like and how would it be delivered

Increased access: toolkit and standards

Getting the evidence used in the policing context

Pulling all the levers

How far have we got and what lessons have we learned?

Getting it shared: easily accessible evidence which is timely

Improving the pipeline: getting more evidence

Getting the evidence used at all levels

Widening the network of innovators and early adopters

Where next?

5 The Education Endowment Foundation: building the role of evidence in the education system

Evidence generation

Evidence synthesis

Evidence mobilisation

The future of evidence in education

6 Audiences first, evidence second: lessons from the Early Intervention Foundation

Introduction

Start with what your audiences' need

Be clear what you mean by evidence.

Focus on getting evidence used

Build strong partnerships and relationships

Measure your impact

7 Overcoming the youth employment evidence challenge

Generating evidence in a fragmented policy and practice context and a fluctuating labour market

From development to impact

Understanding the youth employment system

Fluctuating labour markets

Next steps

Engaging employers in evidence

Employer Advisory Board

Rapid Evidence Assessments

Involving young people in what works

Participation in practice

8 'Pulling rather than pushing': a demand-led approach to evidence mobilisation

Identifying evidence needs

Convening evidence

Communicating evidence

Advancing understanding of evidence use

Advocating for evidence use

9 The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth: some lessons from the first ten years

Phase 1: Evidence reviews - what works?

Systematic evidence reviews

A focus on impact evaluations

A focus on key economic outcomes

Piloting, scoring, iterating, updating

Phase 2: Toolkits - what works best?

Phase 3: Demonstrators and evaluation support - helping to fill the evidence gaps

Conclusions

Disclaimer

Part II

10 Criticisms and challenges of the What Works Centres

Ten challenges and criticisms

1. Audiences and coverage: the challenge of focus

2. The marmite factor: criticism of randomised controlled trials

3. The evidence won't travel: the contextual challenge

4. Confusing methodological pluralism: what counts as evidence?

5. Empty reviews and evidence gaps

6. Failing on scaling

7. Policy influence: the difficulty of biting the hand that feeds you

8. A failure to measure outcomes.

9. Short-termism

10. Erasure

11 Higher aspirations: growing from a university home to an independent body

The importance of empiricism

Longer-term thinking

Student success

Research ethics

Data collection/harmonisation

Regulation

Partnerships

Reference

12 Using evidence to end homelessness

How is the Centre for Homelessness Impact different?

Staffing

Funding

Data collection

Ethics

Stronger together

13 Scaling up: taking 'what works' to the next level

Scaling up requires a whole system approach

Begin by defining the end vision

Strategies and activities involved in scaling up

What does this mean for the work of What Works Centres?

14 Measuring what matters

Measuring what matters

What is success and how do we know

Measuring children and young people's wellbeing

Evaluation

What next for subjective wellbeing and towards administrative data to support trials

15 Bringing it all together: the future of evidence synthesis

Producing evidence with rigour: shared principles and diverse methods

Stages and diversity in the review process

Combining approaches to reviewing

Producing evidence rapidly: coordinated effort and efficiency

Rapid reviews with more focused effort

Rapid reviews with greater efficiency

Producing evidence with relevance

What next for the What Works Network?

16 Frontiers in equality

Two types of question: gaps and animus

Gaps

Mean difference

Cultural, historical and theoretical difference

Study design

Oversampling

Manipulation checks

Animus

Differences in approach

References.

17 Evidence at the grassroots

18 Conclusion

Top tips for new centres

Carts and horses

Standards of evidence and rigour

Be relentlessly practical

Listen - and think

Recommendations for the future

Data

A strategic approach to new centres

Initiatives - not centres

Collaboration

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 19 Jan 2024).

ISBN:

9781447365105

1447365100

9781447365112

1447365119

OCLC:

1377805128