Child poverty pathfinders in Dundee and Glasgow: phase two evaluation - report appendices

Appendix A – Theories of change

Below are text versions of the theory of change diagrams shown in the main report, for those who need to read these with a screen reader.

Dundee

1. Inputs (Resources in)

Funding - Both direct funding of the PF and wider investment in community-based support in Linlathen

Staff time / expertise - Key workers (inc. SSS & DWP KWs); Team Manager; Project Manager

Partner time / expertise

• Linlathen families
• DCC, SG, Soc Sec Sc. Sc and DWP (core partners)
• Community-planning
• Drop-in partners*
• Wider referral partners*
• Dundee Fairness Initiative
• Employability Service (ES)
• HSCP
• Public Health Scotland
• Third Sector

Other

• Facilities – Brooksbank
• Governance (Oversight Board)
• Data
• Training and wellbeing support for delivery team

1. Activities (Things we do)

Delivery for families/HHs: Key workers (KW) provide open-ended, intensive, relational support to families, including:

• Identifying target families
• Door-knocking to engage them
• Running regular local drop-ins with co-located partners
• Asset-based assessment & goal setting with families
• Ongoing case management
• Wide-ranging emotional and practical support & advice, including benefits applications
• Active support navigating the wider benefit/support system

System change activities:

• Service design workshops*
• Employability ‘Sprints’ to develop employability support (ES) model for those further from employment*
• Data sharing workshops
• Meetings / activities to bring more partners into NWD approach

Monitoring & oversight activities:

• Recording data for families in spreadsheet and case notes
• Oversight Board meetings

2. Activities (Things we do)

Families/households:

• No. drop-in sessions run
• No. visits to target families
• No. families accepting KW support
• No. attending drop-in
• No. contacts / length of engagement with KWs
• Value of grants/benefits obtained
• No. receiving support from KW and/or referral re.: employment; education/training; benefits/grants; food; fuel; childcare; housing; mental health; other wellbeing; wider support.
• No. signing up for AND staying engaged over time with ES.

Service/system outputs

• Data sharing agreements
• New policies/guidance/training re. ES for parents in tier 3*
• Shared outcome frameworks / statements of shared principles across partners

Monitoring & evaluation

• Spreadsheet and case notes
• Monitoring reports

3. Short-term outcomes / aims

Families/HHs

• Engaged with KW support
• Immediate / basic needs addressed (inc. debt, food/fuel, repairs)
• Building trusting relationships with KW

Systems

• Learning re. gaps
• Streamlined referral processes
• Agreement of shared values / principles
• Case for data sharing developed

4. Medium-term outcomes / aims

Families/HHs

• More willing & able to engage with wider services
• Increased hope/goals for future (inc. employment)
• Improvements in underlying issues, inc: increased income from benefits; outgoings reduce; improved social connectedness, mental health, wider wellbeing; better access to childcare / respite care; other.

Systems

• Gaps in provision filled
• Wider services adapt as result of feedback => reduced demand on PF)
• More case conferencing
• ES developed for parents at all stages of journey to employability
• Improved trust between partners / services
• Data access issues addressed

5. Long-term outcomes / aims

Families/HHs

• Empowered to make change for themselves
• Moving into training/ education/ volunteering
• Improved digital literacy / reduced digital exclusion
• Increased school engagement (parents and children)

Leading to:

• New / improved sustainable employment, and/or
• Financial, social, and emotional stability
• Resilient and less reliant on services

Systems

• Learning from PF influences local and national policy and practice
• Data sharing as standard

Leading to:

• Fully integrated, person-centred, NWD, place-based approaches to supporting people in poverty embedded across all partners

All ultimately leading to a reduction in child poverty.

Glasgow

• Inputs (Resources in)

Funding - inc. flex to use funding in new/joined up ways (existing, not just new money)

Citizens/families

Core multi-agency team driving change

Multiple wider partners bringing time, org culture, ideas, mindset/willingness to do things differently.

Leadership support and permission to work in new ways

Tools to support case management (e.g. AdvicePro)

Monitoring & evaluation resource

Data, learning and evidence – Inc. early learning (e.g. FISO), other PSR reform (e.g. the Promise), wider data (GCC, DWP etc), and from the PF itself (feeding back in).

• Activities (Things we do)

Delivery of NWD model: Person-centred, holistic, NWD approach implemented across city, inc. through Glasgow Helps, specific targeted services and campaigns, and wider network of third sector and other organisations working with families.

Engaging families at risk of poverty

Holistic needs assessments

Referrals to trusted partners

Advocacy to navigate system

Ongoing review, support and follow-up

System / service redesign:

Multiple relationship building, engagement and development activities, including:

• Citizen engagement / service redesign activities
• NWD sector / X-sector workshops to develop vision
• Activities to understand/engage with existing resource (services, data, funding)
• Work to identify barriers and develop actions to address them
• Development of monitoring FWs
• Developing new ideas/innovations to test.
• Outputs (Deliverables)

Families:

Numbers (and types/circumstances) of families engaged through NWD, including:

• No. initially signed-up
• No. HNAs (or other needs assessments) conducted
• Length of engagement
• No. and types of referrals/support provided

Organisations / systems:

• No. of partner engaged (to diff degrees) with NWD
• No. partner events
• New agreed models of delivery / joint working arrangements
• New data outputs and M&E outputs and tools
• DPIAs/ data sharing agreements to use data in new ways & no. of projects they inform
• Funding flexibilities & financial resources secured
• No. new services developed though PF (inc. those tested and dropped)
• Short-term outcomes / aims

Families:

• Easier access to the right support
• Immediate / basic needs met (e.g. food, fuel, urgent housing repairs, etc.)
• Underlying issues identified

Organisations / systems:

• More partners engaged
• Improved trust between partners
• Partners fully engaged in co-creating NWD model
• Developed effective methods to engage citizens in system design
• MT outcomes / aims

Families:

• Increased engagement with services
• Underlying needs/issues addressed (multiple, but inc: increased income from benefits; addressing employability barriers; MH stability; building confidence/hope)

Organisations / systems:

• More effective joint working in evidence
• Shared culture/values
• NWD model implemented
• Gaps in services filled
• Data being used effectively (barriers to sharing overcome)
• Citizens routinely engaged with service development
• Long-term outcomes / aims

Families:

• Empowered to make change for themselves
• Move into employment / improve employment
• Financially, socially & emotionally secure
• Resilient and less reliant on services

Organisations / systems:

• Fully integrated, person-centred, NWD approach to supporting people in poverty embedded and sustainable across all partners, supported by shared outcome & performance frameworks.
• Cross-cutting (short-long term) aim
• Learning re. the system, what works/doesn’t work, and barriers, applying this to evolving system re-design, and sharing it more widely (partners/SG/other LAs) [across ST, MT, LT]

All ultimately leading to a reduction in child poverty.