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How do we evaluate policy in Britain?

Thursday 6th June 2013, 10.00 - 14.00 Warwick Institute of Education, Room WE1.17

This event will focus on the way that government departments have commissioned and used evaluation research with a focus on evaluation of education policy. We will examine why policies are piloted (and in some cases not) and evaluated, and explore the use of evidence based policy making within government. We will further discuss interdisciplinary methodological approaches to evaluating policy interventions, for example, the use of both quantitative methods and case studies to test local implementation, as well as the measures used to assess policy impact. Finally we will uncover the challenges faced in conducting policy evaluation including recruitment issues, shifts in policy development during the life of the evaluation period and the reporting of independent and impartial results to policy makers. The future of policy implementation will be discussed in the light of budget constraints.

Schedule:

09:30-10:00 Coffee, tea

10:00-11:00 Why do we evaluate policy in Britain? Prof Sue Maguire, University of Warwick, Centre for Education and Industry

11:00-11:15 Coffee, tea

11:15-12:00 An example of evaluation in practice. Becci Newton, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Employment Studies

12:00-12:45 Scenarios to discuss in small groups. Facilitator: Dr Andrea Laczik, University of Warwick, Centre for Education and Industry

12:45-13:00 Plenary session

13:00-14:00 Lunch

Organiser: Professor Sue Maguire and Andrea Laczik

Please note this is a full-day event