Our approach to evaluation

Working with Cordis Bright, we are evaluating both the processes followed in the delivery of the project as well as its impacts on residents, creditors and health agencies.

For example, we will be assessing how well each of the new pathways to support has worked in identifying and pro-actively engaging our priority groups, as well as the difference that has been made by the implementation of the Joint Debt Recovery Protocol and the Financial Support Link Workers.

As the project involves a multi-agency response at a time of immense pressure, we have also included an evaluation stream looking at the system level. This is seeking to yield insights into how we can more effectively support partners to coordinate on a new piece of work in the middle of a crisis.

Ultimately, the evaluation will also be seeking to provide an assessment of the costs and benefits of the programme, and will inform decisions by creditors and other commissioners of services as to the business case for ongoing investment.

Finally, should the project fail to deliver material improvements for residents (or be impeded in doing so by, for example, policy or institutional barriers), we will be capturing the reasons for this. Where appropriate, we will report on any wider government intervention that may be needed to improve financial and health outcomes amongst the target group.

Sharing our insights

We will be sharing further details of the project’s processes, outputs and outcomes over the course of the next fifteen months. These will include releasing details of our Theory of Change and Evaluation Framework, and providing details of the new assessment tool that we will be embedding within the project.

We will also be arranging occasional virtual roundtable events to discuss key findings as these emerge, and to reflect on the project in its wider context. To stay in touch please sign up for our mailing list here.