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The key criteria are that award winners should show us excellence in research that is making a real difference to the people they serve. The awards focus on research impact based on a sound evidence base. We will also be looking for entries that are demonstrating citizen/user involvement/engagement, partnership working, delivering positive outcomes, achieving efficiencies, and embracing innovation.

A: Best use of local area research – Sponsored by the Local Government Association (LGA)

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a local area or an issue that is locally important. This could be based on primary or secondary analysis. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within at least one public sector body. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well-argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

Winner

• Wirral Council – Using the principles of Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis to prioritise areas which would benefit most from a Selective Licensing scheme in Wirral

Highly commended

• Improvement Service – Social Return on Investment (SROI) Analysis of the Embedding of Welfare Rights Advisors in Medical Practices in Dundee and Edinburgh

Shortlisted

• Essex County Council – The London effect – Investigation & risk of vulnerable families moving into Essex
• Manchester City Council – Homelessness Analysis

B: Best use of social care or health research

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a social care or health issue. This could be based on primary or secondary data analysis. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within the social care or health sectors. Our definition of social care and health sectors is in the broadest sense and includes public health. We would welcome entries that address issues relating to health and social care integration. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well-argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

Winner

• Manchester City Council – Evaluation of Manchester’s Community Assessment Support Service (CASS)

Highly commended

• Thurrock Council – The use of a Needs Assessment in developing an Accountable Care Partnership in the locality area of Tilbury & Chadwell St Mary

Shortlisted

• Birmingham City Council – Population segmentation: an approach to reducing childhood obesity inequalities

C: Best use of data – Sponsored by QSR International

To win this award the successful entrant will show how they have successful used data to aid understanding of a local area, community or health issue. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within at least one public sector body. Data for the purposes of this award is defined as the use of big data, open data, business intelligence and statistical analysis. Judges will be looking for evidence that data has been analysed and presented to a high standard for a specific business purpose or issue. The use of the data will have delivered an insight that has aided decision making. We would welcome entries that show the use of data in the day-to-day management of a service. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well-argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

Winner

• Essex County Council – Multi-agency geo-mapping of gangs and child exploitation

Highly commended

• Worcestershire County Council – Worcestershire County Council – Putting data at the heart of digital inclusion

Shortlisted

• Manchester City Council – Care Leavers Accommodation Needs Analysis
• Thurrock Council – The use of a Needs Assessment in developing an Accountable Care Partnership in the locality area of Tilbury & Chadwell St Mary
• West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, West Yorkshire Local Authority Public Health Teams (Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Calderdale) – West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (WYFRS) Safer Communities Programme

D: Most engaging communication of local area research – Sponsored by CACI

To win this award the successful entrant will show how they have successfully communicated local area research to aid understanding of a local area, community or health issue. The audience for this communication could include senior decision-makers, staff, the media and the public. The format of the communication could include (but is not limited to) a written report, conference presentation, event/seminar, videos, infographics, an online portal/website or use of media. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a creative approach that understands the needs of the audiences receiving the information. There should be evidence that research findings have been reported clearly and are fairly represented by the communication of it. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation and the outcomes that have been achieved locally. In entering the category submissions can include a copy of the actual communications, including full or edited reports or links to online resources.

Winner

• Birmingham City Council – Annual Research Seminar Series (5th Year)

Highly commended

• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council – Pushing the Boundaries
• Suffolk County Council – Suffolk Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

Shortlisted

• Lancashire County Council – Healthy people, spaces and workplaces: Lancashire’s working-age population

Outstanding Contribution to LARIA

This award was presented for the first time. It was given to four individuals who between them have contributed over 70 years of service to LARIA. They have all made an outstanding contribution in ensuring that LARIA has survived and flourished.

Winners

• Andy Davis
• Juliet Whitworth
• Mike Walker
• Gerallt Evans-Hughes

Special Recognition Award

This award was presented for the first time. It was given to the outgoing Chair of LARIA for services to local area research and intelligence.

Winner

• Neil Wholey

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London Borough of Lambeth

LARIA Research Impact Award 2015: Best Use of Local Area Research

Lambeth has developed a radical new approach to evidenced-based decision-making, using Randomised Controlled Trials – the ‘gold standard’ for evaluation. Lambeth is increasing revenue collection and delivering improved outcomes by using RCTs to determine the effect of interventions, coupled with behavioural insights which demonstrate that small changes can make a big difference.

Summary: Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are the ‘gold standard’ for evaluation. Unlike other methods, RCTs can help to accurately determine the attribution of an intervention through the use of a randomly assigned control group.

Resource scarcity makes it essential that how we work is as effective as possible and Lambeth has developed a programme of RCTs that improve decision-making and have directly contributed to improved performance and delivery of outcomes.

The council began with an RCT designed to test how council tax revenue could be increased by altering the bill sent to residents. The trial found that simplifying the bill led to a statistically significant increase in the number of people paying their council tax on time. Building on this initial success, a further seven trials are either underway or in development. These trials aim to improve the council’s performance across key policy areas and core challenges in order to strengthen an evidence-based approach to delivering corporate outcomes.

To embed the use of RCTs across the organisation we have instigated capacity-building training on the use of RCTs and behavioural insights, dissemination of trial findings and support to officers on trial design and delivery.

Synopsis: With millions of pounds having to be taken out of the system, ensuring that revenue is maximised is crucial. Increasing council tax collection by just one percentage point generates over £1m in additional revenue, whilst debt recovery adds significantly to administrative costs. Therefore increasing council tax collection rates can provide significant additional revenue, reduce debt-recovery costs and help residents avoid incurring additional costs (and potential financial hardship).

Lambeth’s first Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) tested ways of increasing council tax payments by varying the standard bill sent to residents. The trial was conducted across 8,000 households in three wards. The simplified version of the bill drew attention to the key information and action required, and increased the proportion of people paying on time by nine percent compared with the control group. As a result of this finding the standard council tax bill has now been redesigned to reflect the simplification treatment – a clear example of local evidence-based decision-making. A further trial is now being run, testing the use of a social norm – stating that over 95% of Lambeth residents pay their council tax.

The effect of personalisation of text messages is being tested through a trial reminding residents to pay their council tax. The RCT is still running, but interim results suggest that the use of individuals’ names helps to increase response rates. Following the completion of the trial, the council intends to roll out text message personalisation to other service areas, such as reminders of benefits entitlement.

RCTs have also helped avoid making costly but ineffective changes, as well being used to make effective changes. One trial tested Dan Ariely’s theory that moving the placement of a signature to the top of a form would reduce the incidence of fraud and error. Our trial tested the effect of signature placement on Single Person Discount renewal claims. However, unlike Ariely, we found that the variation in signature placement made no difference to response rates. As a result, the approach was not adopted, avoiding the unnecessary expense of adopting an ineffective redesign.

Our use of RCTs is not confined to revenue collection: trials are being developed across the council to strengthen evidence-based decision-making, to reduce waste, to increase volunteering, to improve internal communications and to support council programmes.

Our RCTs have been developed through collaboration with Professor Peter John, a leading academic in the use of trials in public policy. Professor John (who is a technical advisor to the Behavioural Insights Team) has worked closely with Council staff to design, deliver and review trials. Our aim has been to build internal capacity and capability in the use of RCTs and to support their widespread adoption as a core methodology within the council. Whilst we still have a way to go to achieve our objective, the progress so far has been hugely encouraging.

What should LARIA members learn from this award entry? 

RCTs are not, despite common perceptions, prohibitively expensive or complicated to use and local authorities can adopt them as a routine methodology for evaluating interventions. Lambeth has demonstrated that RCTs can be successfully employed to determine the effectiveness of particular interventions, and this in turn can be used to guide and inform decision-making. The approach can be applied to a wide range of policy areas and services in order to ensure that assumptions are properly tested and decision-making is based on robust evidence of what works.

Public bodies are facing huge financial challenges and there is widespread acknowledgement of the need to work differently. Change and innovation is the ‘new normal’ in the public sector, and yet too often these new ways of working are not evaluated in ways that determine how much of a change can be attributed to the intervention. The use of a randomly assigned control group provides the reassurance that any observed change is the result of doing things differently – and not a result of other external factors.

Piloting new approaches is commonplace but doesn’t tell us if the approach will have the same effect if it is rolled out. Using RCTs significantly increases the quality of evidence and the confidence we can have in decision-making.

Photo credit: ‘The London Eye @ Night’ by Mostaque Chowdhury

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Click here to download LARIA News (edition 96) which summarises each winning, commended and shortlisted entry along with judges comments.

Best use of local area research – Sponsored by the Local Government Association (LGA)

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a local area or an issue that is locally important. This could be based on primary or secondary data analysis. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within at least one public sector body. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

• WINNER: London Borough of Lambeth: Using Randomised Control Trials to Improve Public Service Outcomes
• COMMENDED: Manchester City Council: Welfare Reform Research
• SHORTLISTED: Birmingham City Council: Birmingham Active Parks
• SHORTLISTED: Oxfordshire County Council: Research and Intelligence Team PopExTrACT: Oxfordshire’s Population Forecasting Tool

Best use of social care or health research

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a social care or health issue. This could be based on primary or secondary data analysis. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within the social care or health sectors. Our definition of social care and health sectors is in the broadest sense and includes public health. We would welcome entries that cover more than one sector. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

• WINNER: Public Health Intelligence, Kirklees Council: From Conception to Delivery and Beyond: Lessons Learned through Evaluation of the Auntie Pam’s Pregnancy Advisory Service
• COMMENDED: Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Constabulary: Lancashire Drugs Threat Assessment
• SHORTLISTED: Healthwatch Dudley: A Strong Voice for Local People in Decisions about Urgent Care Services in Dudley Borough

Best use of community safety or policing research

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a community safety or policing issue. This could be based on primary or secondary data analysis. Not only that, but they must also show that this has led to evidence-based decision-making within the community safety and policing sectors. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a well argued methodology, clear reporting of the findings and impact. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation, and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

• WINNER: Luton Borough Council and Bedfordshire Police: soLUTioNs Community Safety Partnership Gang Profile
• COMMENDED: Cambridgeshire Research Group, Cambridgeshire County Council: The Use of Continuous Strategic Assessments in Planning Partnership Interventions
• SHORTLISTED: Kent Fire and Rescue Service: Human Behaviour: The Kent Study
• SHORTLISTED: Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Constabulary: Optimal Forager: A Partnership Approach to Targeting Burglary Risk Areas and Vulnerability

Most engaging presentation of local area research

To win this award the successful entrant will show how they have successfully presented local area research to aid understanding of a local area, community or health issue. The audience for this presentation could include senior decision-makers, staff, the media and the public. The format of the presentation could include (but is not limited to) a written report, conference presentation, event/seminar, videos, infographics, an online portal/website or use of media. Judges will be looking for submissions that show a creative approach that understands the needs of the audience receiving the information. There should be evidence that research findings have been reported clearly and are fairly represented by the presentation of it. Ideally the winner will also show strong partnership working, citizen/user involvement/engagement, innovation and the outcomes that have been achieved locally.

• WINNER: Northumbria University (Department of Social Sciences and Languages), supported by Newcastle City Council: Imaging Homelessness in a City of Care (Newcastle upon Tyne)
• SHORTLISTED: Brent Council: Diversity in Brent: Knowing Your Communities
• SHORTLISTED: Cambridgeshire Research Group, Cambridgeshire County Council: Cambridgeshire Atlas: Victim and Offender Pyramids

New researcher of the year
This award is given to a researcher with under five years of experience in a research field who has made an impact. This could be a person of any age. The entry could be based on a particular project they have led, an innovation they have pioneered or a particularly strong skill set. Their career to date should show a researcher who is able to conduct research that provides insightful analysis, promotes citizen/user involvement/engagement, presents information well, and helps develop evidence-based decision-making in the public sector. We will accept entrants who have had a longer career in research than five years, but have moved into a new research field of which they have under five years of experience. The researcher cannot nominate themselves for this award.

• WINNER: Zonni Auburn, Cambridgeshire County Council

Volunteer of the Year

This award is in the gift of the LARIA Council and recognises the work of a volunteer who has progressed the work of LARIA but does not sit on the LARIA Council. The winner this year has contributed throughout the year in terms of local networking events in Yorkshire and the Humber, promoting greater links with partnership organisations and supporting the 2015 LARIA Conference and Local Area Research Fortnight.

• WINNER: Alison Monkhouse, Kirklees Council

This year the judges decided not to shortlist or award for the “best community engagement or consultation” category.

Photo credit: London fireworks by @citywestminster

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