Fairer Futures Partnership Programme: evaluation strategy

Research Questions

We have developed a set of core research questions that will shape the national evaluation of the FFP programme, set out below. Alongside the Theory of Change, these questions may also be useful for other partners to help shape and guide their evaluation activity.

1. What approaches to building more integrated, responsive services are being developed and implemented in local partnerships?
2. To what extent and how is the programme making progress towards the outcomes set out in the Theory of Change – for families and for policy and practice, at both local and Scottish Government levels?
3. To what extent are the approaches being developed and tested sustainable over time and to what extent can they become self-sustaining without additional funding?
4. To what extent can successful approaches be adapted or adopted in other areas?
5. To what extent is the work of the partnerships driving change within Scottish Government?
6. What are the impacts on public services staff and on families in or at risk of poverty?
7. What are the enablers and constraints on making progress?
8. Are there any unintended impacts and consequences on families or on public services and local support?

9. What do new approaches cost to deliver, compared to business as usual, and to what extent do the approaches represent value for money over existing approaches?

We also set out, in Box 2 below, the more specific research questions that we aim to address in the national evaluation of the expansion areas that is currently being commissioned. These are based on the Theory of Change for the programme and identified evidence gaps, and it is envisaged that they will be refined in the early phase of the research. Again, these may be helpful for other partners and could be adapted to support local research and evaluation activity.

Box 2: Research questions for the national evaluation of the FFP expansion areas

Process questions

RQ 1. What approaches are local partnerships taking to transform the support provided to families in poverty and which approaches are most effective?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of different models / approaches for transforming family support services and how are they influenced by diverse local contexts?

How do FFPs engage with and support a diversity of families, such as those with protected characteristics or from under-served groups?

How are common challenges addressed (e.g. collective leadership, embedding cultural change, data sharing) and what is the transferable learning from this?

How effectively are FFPs joining up a range of initiatives and activity at the local level to maximise the impact on child poverty (e.g. initiatives in health, employability, childcare, transport, economic development, etc.)?

How effectively are FFPs joining up and co-ordinating family support across the public and third sectors?

To what extent are third sector partners supporting local FFP implementation and what value does this add?

How can person-centred, holistic and ‘no wrong door’ approaches to family support be scaled up within and across areas?

How can changes be sustained and embedded over the longer-term? To what extent can they become self-sustaining without additional funding?

How effectively is learning being shared and used across the partnerships and Scottish Government to drive improvements?

What more can Scottish Government do to support success in embedding systems change at a local level?

Impact questions

RQ 2. What contribution is the programme making, both in terms of changes to family support systems and to changes for individual families and people in or at risk of poverty?

To what extent are the FFPs supporting families to improve their material circumstances (and ultimately move out of poverty) over the medium term (6-12 months) and longer term (12 months +), and how are they contributing to that outcome?

How do any impacts differ for different types of families (e.g. priority family groups, people with protected characteristics)?

To what extent and how are the FFPs delivering more person-centred, joined up and effective support to families in or at risk of poverty?

To what extent and how has more person-centred, joined up and effective support impacted families’ and children’s wellbeing outcomes?

To what extent, and how, has there been a shift towards more preventative support for families in/at risk of poverty?

To what extent and how have parents felt more included in decision-making and planning that affects them and their community?

Resource use questions

RQ3. How are resources being used within the programme?

How efficiently and effectively is Scottish Government and local partners’ resource being deployed in the programme?

To what extent does the additional funding flexibility and reduced reporting in some FFP areas affect the efficiency and effectiveness of resource use?