Reen Blake-Carr introduces the TAF/EDF project, highlighting key themes—evaluation setup, innovative use of place-based data, and effective dissemination—as essential for impactful, place-sensitive policy interventions across the UK.
The Evaluation Development Fund (EDF) and the Trial Accelerator Fund (TAF) are both funding streams from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) designed to evaluate interventions aimed at spreading opportunities and reducing disparities in economic, health, and social outcomes across the UK. This sits under the UKRI Creating Opportunities, Improving Outcomes strategic theme to identify “what works” when promoting economic and social prosperity for people and places across the UK. City-REDI’s role is to ensure that stakeholders have access to emerging evidence on what works to address place-based inequalities within and across areas of the UKRI by connecting with the Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) programme.
So far, we have hosted two online workshops and one knowledge exchange event, where three key themes emerged: setting up an evaluation, data processes, and disseminating findings. It became clear that projects across the cohort were facing challenges that fell under one or more of these themes.
We explore these three themes in this blog.
Setting up a place-based evaluation
Place-based approaches to evaluations take the context of a specific place into account. One method of approach is a realist evaluation, which focuses on “what works, for whom, under what circumstances and how”. The contextual knowledge provided by place-based evaluations helps provide a deeper understanding of the local dynamics, challenges and opportunities that an area will face. Often, these place-based evaluations involve collaboration between various sectors and organisations. This underlines the importance of understanding the local context when developing effective and responsive policies.
One of the challenges associated with setting up an evaluation is navigating different systems, such as compliance, governance, and IT requirements. This is an important part of the research process, but there is a risk that can also slow things down. The time-consuming processes of working around emerged as common themes. Having a strong research support team and capacity can help smooth out these issues.
New uses of place-based data
Projects on the EDF and TAF are using place-based data in innovative and new ways. Some next approaches used webscraped or geocoded data, which helps supplement existing data quicker or in more depth. These new approaches help give a more detailed understanding of the local context.
However, placed-based evaluations often face limitations in data availability and quality. First, collecting comprehensive and accurate data can be difficult, which can reduce the reliability of the evaluation. Similarly, collecting data can also be time-consuming which can mean less time spent on other work such as analysing data, report writing and dissemination of results.
Disseminating findings
Once a project is complete, it is time to disseminate the findings. Common questions amongst the cohort included finding out: “Who is the audience of the work?” “What are the key policy questions that my findings can help answer?” and “What are the next steps?” The ways in which findings are disseminated depends on who the audience is. The variety of approaches brings different benefits, challenges and opportunities.
Dissemination is an important step on the path to policy impact. Whereas an evaluation can provide evidence of the impact that intervention makes, dissemination impact is focused on how the evaluation findings can translate into policy change.
There are multiple different opportunities available for project leads/researchers to disseminate their findings to make an impact on public policy. For example, project leads gave examples of holding community engagement meetings and workshops when engaging with community organisations. In addition to helping build relationships with community organisations, this approach provides a platform to engage with residents directly, present the findings, and allow for swift feedback. For policy makers, researchers can also use interactive dashboards and maps which can make the complex data used on the project more accessible and engaging, as using these tools will allow stakeholders to explore the data visually and understand the geographic distribution of findings.
One challenge of disseminating findings is sustaining momentum. Continuous engagement and follow-ups are necessary to translate findings into tangible outcomes and can be difficult to maintain. Addressing this challenge requires thoughtful planning, clear communication and a commitment to engaging with all stakeholders throughout the dissemination process
Conclusion
In conclusion, the process of setting up an evaluation, leveraging new uses of place-based data, and effectively disseminating findings are crucial components in driving impactful and sustainable interventions. Integrating these three themes creates a comprehensive approach to evaluating and improving interventions. This holistic strategy not only enhances the effectiveness of projects but also fosters a culture of learning, innovation, and community empowerment.
This blog was written by Reen Blake-Carr, Policy and Data Analyst for City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the author and not necessarily those of City-REDI or the University of Birmingham.