Short Abstract

Drawing on Foundations’ toolkit and their Changemakers programme, Foundations and Cordis Bright share insights into how local evidence-based leadership bridges the longstanding gap between evaluation and action in children’s services.

Description

There is a longstanding gap between what the evidence tells us improves outcomes and what is available for children and families locally. This session will explore how to close that gap by using a suite of tools developed by Foundations and partners to support local areas move from understanding evidence to embedding it into practice.

Using Foundations’ Changemakers programme as a case example, we will demonstrate how Foundations supports evidence-informed decision making at the local level. The toolkit brings together two key resources: Practice Guides, offering evidence-based recommendations for commissioning and delivering family support, and the Guidebook which summarises tested interventions that put these practices into action. Together, these provide a practical starting point for local authorities (LAs) seeking to make evidence-informed choices.

Despite a strong evidence base for parenting interventions, there is a gap in the interventions we know to be effective reaching scale. The Changemakers programme, funded by Foundations in partnership with the Department for Education and the Youth Endowment Fund, was designed address this challenge. It empowered LAs to bridge the gap between evidence and practice by appointing ‘Local Evidence Leaders’ to champion evidence use, embed evidence-based interventions, and build capacity for evaluation-informed decision-making.

Cordis Bright conducted an implementation and process evaluation following the programme from inception to completion (2024–2026). Using mixed methods, they explored how the model operated in different contexts, what supported or constrained implementation and how dedicated local evidence leadership can influence system wide change.

In this session, Foundations and Cordis Bright will reflect on what it takes to embed evaluation and evidence use in local systems. We will share findings on enablers and barriers to evidence leadership; from leadership commitment and organisational readiness to practical enablers such as time, networks, and peer learning. The session will conclude with interactive discussion, encouraging reflection on how What Works Centres and evaluators can collaborate to make evaluation useful, used and usable.

Aligned with the theme “Bridging the Gap: evaluation to action,” this session provides practical insights for What Works Centres, policymakers and evaluators seeking to move from isolated evidence use toward sustainable evidence-led cultures and explores what it really takes to make evidence-based leadership stick.