Adapting research design to changing policy priorities: practical learnings from a series of five programme evaluations of the Safer Streets Fund

Speaker(s):

Christoph Koerbitz, Kantar Public UK

Abstract:

This session discusses how the research design of a complex, multi-year evaluation programme evolved over time, based on the experience of evaluating five iterations of the Safer Streets Fund, which supported ca. 250 local projects with nearly £100m in funding. Each study comprised a different combination of qualitative process evaluation approaches (e.g. in-depth case study research, analysis of MI data, stakeholder and end user interviews) and various impact evaluation methods (e.g. survey based difference-in-difference designs and synthetic control analysis of police recorded crime data). We discuss examples of methodological innovation, e.g. the Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP, developed by the University of Bath) which we used to elicit narrative causal statements from intended beneficiaries in order to craft contribution stories. We showcase what worked well and how we overcame challenges in adapting our research design in a way that responded to changing policy priorities.