Evaluation of West of England Works
ERS was commissioned to deliver the formative and summative evaluations of West of England Works, a Building Better Opportunities programme (funded by the National Lottery Community Fund), aimed at supporting those furthest from the labour market into employment. Led by Weston College, the programme brought together a partnership of organisations, ranging from higher education institutions to grassroots community-led groups.
Our Using a participant-led approach, ERS conducted semi-structured interviews and creative, interactive focus groups with programme beneficiaries. Our flexible approach ensured that participants felt empowered to control the narrative of the interview, while allowing the study team to cover the evaluation’s key themes. Taking into account the vulnerabilities that many participants faced, such as social anxiety or past traumatisation from services, participants were able to choose the consultation method and location that they were most comfortable with. Participants were also given the option to discuss the interview with researchers over the phone before going ahead. This allowed our research team to build trust with participants and discuss how we might overcome any barriers to taking part in consultations. Partner organisations on the programme gave positive feedback on the clear, concise language used in all research tools and the relaxed, engaging nature of consultations.
Our interim report received positive feedback from partners and supported the programme to secure a funding extension, as well as to implement recommendations to improve its continued delivery.