Research and evaluation services-1
Providing expertise and support to service providers to enable monitoring of impact, quality and value.
Research in Practice is a leading research and evaluation provider in children’s and adults services. Central to our services is an evidence‑informed methodology, seamlessly incorporating research evidence, practitioner expertise, and the voices of individuals with lived-experience.
Providing expertise and support to service providers to enable monitoring of quality, impact and value of the services they provide. We have extensive experience in leading projects and complex programmes, and a proven track record in effective quality assurance, project and contract management.
Working with and for, and supporting professionals in the social care, health, criminal justice and higher education sectors and our working partnerships include government departments, local and national organisations, local authorities, charities, and third sector organisations. Projects involve children and young people, families, adults and carers, and professionals across the social care sector, with research services conducted in local communities, alongside service providers and in prison settings. Our expertise and knowledge in this area ensures that we can inform policy and practice, supporting evidence-informed decision-making.
Working collaboratively, our expert research and evaluation team take a mixed methods approach and can work with you on:
- Analysis and interpretation of service level or administrative data.
- Creation of tailored tools to support long-term monitoring of your impact.
- Design your evaluation.
- Provide bespoke support and consultancy as you design and undertake your own evaluations.
- Support the development of your internal research capacity by designing and delivering bespoke research methods workshops.
With services that can include development of:
- Theory of Change.
- Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
- System improvements and transformation.
Design and planning
Our expert team of sector and research specialists will work collaboratively with you to;
- understand your requirements
- design and plan an evaluation or research project and refine your research questions.
Our specialists will tailor activities tailored to your context and;
- develop appropriate and robust research methodology
- designing desk or field based research.
Our expertise spans a wide range of methods, including;
- rapid evidence reviews
- qualitative and mixed‑methods primary research, and
- participatory approaches that meaningfully involve those with lived and professional experience.
Support and delivery
Alongside our research and sector professionals, our dedicated project management team oversees all aspects of delivery. We take a collaborative and transparent approach, with regular online project meetings throughout the project life-cycle to ensure strong communication and shared understanding. Ethical practice is central to our work. We embed participatory and equitable principles in every stage of a project.
Findings and recommendations
We draw on the collective insight of our research specialists and sector experts to analyse data and develop findings that are;
- clearly framed,
- evidence‑informed, and
- tailored to your organisational needs.
Our recommendations are practical and actionable, supporting you to apply learning in your setting.
Research
Supporting providers in understanding the impact that their services are having to inform better practice.
Informing policy and practice
Our research and evaluation service supports policy and practice and our expert team combine in-depth evidence-informed practice expertise with robust knowledge of research and evaluation methods to inform national policy and practice.
Working alongside government departments, universities and other institutions. Our robust work blends high quality academic evidence, with practice and sector expertise and the voice of children, young people and adults who use public services.
Research collaboration
Our research team welcome the opportunity to collaborate on research and evaluation projects that drive real change and we can support you with your research project.
Specialising in participation and co‑production, to ensure the voices of children, young people, families, and adults with lived-experience meaningfully shape every stage of the work. Combining this lived-experience with practitioner insight and strong academic knowledge, we create research that will help you build evidence that strengthens services and shapes meaningful change that is designed to influence practice, policy, and lasting outcomes.
Explore our work
Understanding the emerging use of artificial intel...
Social Work England commissioned Research in Practice to explore the emerging use of AI in social work educati...
'From trait to state': how Ofsted might consider c...
Delivering research for the Conceptualising vulnerability for inspection and regulation project for Ofsted. Fo...
Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews – Learning Sup...
Exploring how high-quality learning can be gained from serious incidents to better protect children and young ...
Improving outcomes for children and young people i...
Research has found the use of the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction, once seen as a last resort, had become t...
Evaluations
Working independently or in collaboration with a wider partnership, we provide evaluation services and expertise that help service providers understand their impact.
Our support enables effective monitoring of service quality and value, producing outcome evidence that guides strategic development and drives informed decision‑making.
How we can work with you
A mixed method approach is taken and a wide range of evidence-driven collection techniques are used to gather, analyse, and interpret data, ensuring meaningful and actionable insights. This can include:
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Observations
- Case studies
- Surveys and statistical analysis of administrative data.
An independent evaluation of your service or programme can demonstrate impact and support evidence-informed decision-making. Taking a mixed methods approach, we will work in collaboration with you to design your evaluation, often leaving a legacy of tools and skills to support future internal monitoring and learning.
We can support programme, process, and service evaluations.
We can work alongside your team and key stakeholders to develop a theory of change or monitoring and evaluation framework, developing and refining a shared understanding of the change processes and how impact is tracked, achieved, with effectiveness and outcomes measured and evaluated.
Providing data-driven insights to inform on-going work and improve performance.
Our experienced research evaluators can provide bespoke support as you design and conduct your own evaluations. We can:
- Design and create tools you can use to monitor impact.
- Work with you to develop and produce an evaluation that provides;
- insights into achievement of objectives and goals
- highlights areas of best practice, and
- areas for refinement and growth.
Alternatively we can support the development of your internal research capacity by designing and delivering research methods workshops, focused on your key priorities, specific objectives and requirements. Find out more about opportunities available by exploring our Learning and development.
Explore our work
The following project deliveries, reports, reviews and case studies provide an insight into how our services were used to support specific programmes of work. Consider how our services could assist planning your own evaluation.
Deprivation of Liberty
The 'Improving outcomes for children and young people in complex situations with multiple needs, at risk or subject to a Deprivation of Liberty' project was commissioned by the Department for Education and reports on findings from research completed by Research in Practice and the National Children’s Bureau.
The 'Wakefield Families Together' journey
A programme that aims to transform Wakefield's Children's Services under the banner of Wakefield Families Together, through collaboration and integration.
Evaluation Reports and Evidence Reviews
Take a look through our diverse portfolio to find out more about the services undertaken by Research in Practice and directly access the evaluation reports/evidence reports.