Short Abstract

Evaluation in highly regulated sectors requires aligning the evidence cultures of policy departments and regulators. Using a current collaboration, DCMS, the Gambling Commission and NatCen present a framework for managing technical mandates, governance and credibility in high-pressure environments.

Description

This session explores the strategic challenge of "Bridging the Gap" between separate but closely linked governmental bodies with differing mandates. While policy-making departments and independent regulators often share high-level goals, their internal evaluation cultures, risk appetites and evidence needs can diverge.

Using the ongoing collaboration between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Gambling Commission (GC) and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) as a real-world example, we move beyond a project-specific report to offer a systematic framework for alignment. We will detail the proactive steps taken to build a shared language and governance structure, focusing on three core pillars:

- Navigating mandates: Strategies for resolving the inherent tension between a department’s policy-delivery focus and a regulator’s statutory duties.

- Supplier management in complex governance: Ensuring external evaluators meet the rigorous, multi-layered standards of two different government bodies simultaneously.

- Stakeholder credibility and evidence scrutiny: How to communicate evaluation objectives to external groups (including industry and lived experience groups) to ensure the resulting evidence base is positioned as independent, robust and capable of withstanding public scrutiny.

Rather than focusing on final outcomes, this session shares live lessons on managing evaluation expectations mid-process. We argue that establishing this cultural and procedural alignment is a distinct, foundational phase of evaluation that is essential for ensuring that evidence - once delivered - can be successfully translated into action.