Last week, representatives from the LIIA team attended Children & Young People Now’s annual evaluation conference. It was great to hear from a range of experts on topics such as effective youth-led evaluation, how to use data to improve children’s outcomes, and how to deliver successful randomised control trials.
During the conference, it was also highlighted that evaluations have been limited in the children’s social care sector which has restricted the development of evidence-based approaches and policies. Through engagement in the London Young People Study (LYPS), LIIA and our partners hope to contribute to building up this evidence base and making the case for further investment in this field of work.
- Data is effective with policymakers as they are keen to implement evidence-led solutions.
- Inequalities, racism and discrimination arise in research and evaluation through power dynamics in funding, research designs and analysis. Organisations should strive to actively address racism whilst also embedding anti-discriminatory practices in their work.
- Centring young voices at every stage of the research process is key to ensuring young people are involved in decision-making.
- Published research must be made available and easily accessible to practitioners.
- Storytelling can also be used as an alternative way to capture impact and engage with young people.