• A map of how public services feel from a citizen perspective
• A timeline of national attempts to join up public services (1997-2015)
• A short paper on the perennial barriers to joining up and insights on how to tackle them
• A blog summarising the project and key findings

In the next phase of work, they will be conducting several  visits to local areas  to provide practical support and challenge to as they implement new approaches to joining up in employment and skills and health and social care. The Institute for Government will also work with local partners to find effective models for sharing learning, ideas and evidence. For more updates, or to get involved keep an eye on our project page or get in touch with Dr Jo Casebourne, Programme Director.

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Inspired by 2015 being the ‘international year of evaluation’, we began the morning with a focus on evaluation. First up was Lucy Mowat from Wakefield District Housing who talked to us about their Cash Wise Big Lottery project and how it was evaluated:

Evaluation case study: CashWise (Wakefield District Housing)

CashWise (video)

Continuing with the evaluation theme, we heard from Sarah Thurgood and Owen Richardson from the Kirklees Public Health Intelligence Team who shared learning from their evaluation of a local project called Auntie Pam’s:

Evaluation case study: Auntie Pam’s (Kirklees Council)

…one of this year’s LARIA Research Impact award winners!

It was then time to move into table discussions. This part of the event provided an opportunity for people to discuss and explore some key issues together – sharing challenges, questions, good practice, ideas and solutions with a focus on one of six topics:

• Open data – successes and challenges
• JSNA – asset based approaches
• Linking intelligence and performance
• Online panels
• Structures, roles and new ways of working
• Learning and development for researchers

…as well as the chance to refuel with coffee and biscuits! There was a definite buzz in the room with lots of lively discussion and people making contacts.

Discussion summaries

Open Data Guide, Principles & FAQs (Leeds Data Mill)

Our final set of presentations was themed around tools and techniques. Kelly Charles (ResearchBods) discussed making the most of online insight communities, Andrew Fitzpatrick (Kirklees Council) explored the power of maps and Diane Armstrong (QSR International) focused on qualitative analysis – human vs. machine.

Online insight communities (ResearchBods)

More than just a map (Kirklees Council)

Qualitative analysis – NVivo (QSR International)

NVivo – Cheshire East Case Study

And before we knew it the morning was over – a big thank you once again to all of our speakers, table facilitators and everyone who attended.

Alison Monkhouse

LARIA Regional Co-Ordinator, Yorkshire & the Humber

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• Support for the idea of university tuition fees has remained consistent over the past decade: the proportion of respondents believing that all university students should pay fees was recorded as 11% in both 2004 and 2013, while the proportion who feel that some students should pay has risen by just one percentage point (from 66% to 67%).
• At 69%, satisfaction with the NHS remains almost identical to that recorded in 2009.
• The  proportion of respondents who believe that taxes should be increased in order to finance more spending on health, education and welfare has risen by just five percentage points over the course of the coalition’s tenure (from 32% in 2010 to 37% in 2014).

These figures seem to conflict with the ‘thermostatic’ model of public opinion put forward by the political scientist Christopher Wlezien, in which it is argued that public opinion responds to changes in government spending. According to this theory, the electorate has an ideal level of spending in mind for certain issues, meaning that when the government spends a reduced amount of money, support for additional spending increases, and when the government spends more, support for increased spending reduces. This model has been tested against British public opinion data from the late twentieth and very early twenty-first centuries: however, the data shown above indicates that this link may, at present, be weakening. However, the report reveals that there is one issue that has engendered a much more significant shift in opinion during the current government’s tenure: support for the concept of a coalition government has declined substantially. The notion of coalition government is unusual in British politics: the current coalition is the first to govern Britain since 1945. In 2007, 45% of respondents to the British Social Attitudes survey stated that they would prefer a coalition government over a single-party administration: however, this proportion has now fallen to just 29%.

The report also predicts several areas that are likely to be of concern to the next government, whatever its eventual composition. These include:

• Funding of the NHS. Almost the entirety of the general public (92%) believe that the NHS is facing a funding problem, with almost three quarters believing that this problem is either “major” or “severe.” However, the various methods of increasing NHS funding which were put forward by the researchers were not particularly well received. Approximately one third (32%) of respondents supported the idea of restricting free healthcare to those on lower incomes, while a quarter (24%) supported the idea of a tax dedicated solely to providing funding for the NHS. Still less popular were the ideas of paying more tax through the current system (17%), introducing charges for visits to GPs and A&E departments (14%) or charging people to cover their food and laundry costs while in hospital (12%).

• The UK’s relationship with Europe. Since 1996, the majority of the British public have either felt that the UK should seek to reduce the EU’s powers or that it should leave the EU altogether. In the most recent British Social Attitudes survey report, respondents were asked to choose from a range of options for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Of these options, the most popular was to remain a member but renegotiate terms (38%), followed by leaving the EU (24%) and leaving the relationship as it is (18%). The least popular options were to remain in the EU and increase its powers (10%) and to work towards the formation of a single European government (4%). While this euroscepticism is, according to the researchers, a continuation of a longer-term trend rather than a new development, they conclude that the next government is likely to be expected to, as a minimum, retain the UK’s status as a relatively unenthusiastic EU member. Moreover, the report also discusses the rise of UKIP, concluding that this does not, in fact, stem from a surge in euroscepticism among the British public. It states that other key characteristics of UKIP supporters are their social conservatism, their distrust of politics and concern with regard to the uneven distribution of wealth.

• Spending on welfare. With the exception of pensions and support for the disabled, spending on welfare is broadly unpopular among the electorate. The proportion who feel that the government should spend more on welfare has declined consistently over the past few decades: in 1989, the proportion of the electorate who felt this way stood at 69%, compared to just 30% in 2014. While Labour supporters tend to be more sympathetic towards welfare claimants than Conservative supporters, 50% of the former group still agreed with the statement that “around here, most unemployed people could find a job if they wanted to.” The researchers therefore conclude that it would be difficult for the next government to make any substantive changes to the welfare policies imposed in recent years without risking significant public discontent. They also suggest that it may be difficult for the incoming government to continue to meet the expectations of the public with regard to protecting pensions from spending cuts.

For further information about the British Social Attitudes survey, please see http://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/.

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Both the Summer and Autumn 2013 NCS programmes were found to have statistically significant positive impacts on the four outcome areas explored in the evaluation:

• social mixing
• transition to adulthood
• teamwork, communication and leadership
• community involvement

Cost benefit analysis also suggests NCS has delivered greater social benefits than the costs involved.

You can download the full report here.

Photo credit: The Secret Garden NCS Project by wheelzwheeler

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The LGiU have been working with Lambeth to evaluate their new approach to improving the local neighbourhood.

Instead of asking residents  “do you support this proposal”, Lambeth wanted to ask residents “what would you like to see in this area?” The approach places local citizens in the driving seat and shows how Lambeth Council is seeking to put co-operative principles into practice.

The publication explores both the challenges and opportunities of this approach by considering three local projects: the Neighbourhood Enhancement Programme, Van Gogh Walk and the Loughborough Junction Plan.

The local projects vary according to geography, timescale and budget but each initiative shares the aspiration of reconfiguring the relationship between the council and local residents.

The evaluation draws together some broad, practical tips for councils similarly interested in placing a community engagement programme at the centre of council delivery.

Download the full report.

Read the blog.

Photo Credit: Lambeth Walk Doorstep Green by Ewan Munro

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The PHR Programme is accepting applications to its commissioned workstream.  Applicants are invited to submit proposals on the following topics by 1pm on 22 April 2014:

• 13/162 Improving oral health
• 13/163 Mass media for public health messages

The commissioning briefs and guidance notes can be found on the PHR commissioned call webpage.

Photo: Padstow, Cornwall. For more details on LARIA Photo 

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