Corporate report

Cabinet Office Evaluation Strategy 2026-2030

Published 3 June 2026

Foreword/Statement of Support

As Chief Analyst, I am pleased to introduce the new Cabinet Office Evaluation Strategy. This document outlines how we will continue to use evidence to improve our work and ensure we are delivering value for the public.

Where We Stand

Our previous strategy has now come to a close, and it is worth reflecting on what we achieved. We have fulfilled key commitments from the previous strategy, and have made genuine progress in how we approach evaluation in the Cabinet Office, beginning to make it a routine part of how we design and deliver policy.

Specifically, we have seen:

• A higher volume of completed evaluations: There have been 70 completed evaluations uploaded onto the Evaluation Registry since the last strategy was published. There are also a further 26 planned or ongoing Cabinet Office evaluations on the Registry meaning that there are 90 Cabinet Office programmes registered in total. 
• Improved skills and confidence among our teams in using evidence to make decisions: Over 100 Cabinet Office officials have attended the Evaluation Academy training since it was introduced in 2023.
• Better standards through enhanced guidance and peer review: Accessible resources are now available to all Cabinet Office colleagues to support the development of evaluation plans. Furthermore, all spending proposals at the investment committee now need to present an evaluation plan before spending is signed off.

What Comes Next

However, while we have made good progress, there is more work to do. This new strategy is not just a continuation of the old one; it focuses on the areas where we still need to improve.

We need to be more consistent. While some areas of the department are performing well, others still struggle to integrate evaluation into their daily work. This strategy provides a framework to help align these practices, streamline our processes, and better facilitate the exchange of lessons learned across the department.

Our goal is straightforward: to make sure we know what works, for who, what doesn’t, and why, and how we can do better next time. I look forward to working with you all to put this strategy into practice.

Summary

The Cabinet Office remains committed to building on the foundations of governance, capability, and standards established in our 2023-2024 evaluation strategy. Since its publication, we have made progress in embedding a stronger evidence-led culture at the heart of our operations and maintaining a transparent, robust evidence base across our diverse portfolios.

This update focuses on evolving our approach to ensure our evaluation activity remains proportionate and impactful. By refining our collective understanding of “what works”, we aim to enhance public value, and support the successful delivery of government priorities. We will achieve this through a continued focus on professional standards and collaborative evidence-building, ensuring that our interventions are informed by evidence and refined through learning.

This document reports progress on our previous strategy and our priorities for the future.

Steffan Jones

Chief Analyst 

Introduction

The Cabinet Office ensures that Government works together to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom. The Cabinet Office is at the heart of driving the Prime Minister’s delivery agenda.

Its role is to:

• Support the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to set direction and enable delivery of the government’s priorities. 
• Has responsibility for core government policy areas which relate closely to the Prime Minister’s powers and Head of Government.
• Is the corporate headquarters for Government, and houses many of the cross-government Functions. Functions are responsible for setting strategy, capability and standards of practice, across the Civil Service and wider public sector, for communications, people, property, commercial, security and counter fraud. 
• Lead the Civil Service in delivering government ambitions for productivity, efficiency and reform to shape a state that delivers better and faster impact for citizens.

Evaluation in the Cabinet Office

Evaluation is formally defined as a “systematic assessment of the design, implementation and outcomes of an intervention.”^{[footnote 1]} This commitment to robust evaluation is a government-wide priority, with central guidance for appraisal and evaluation for the public sector outlined in HMT’s Magenta Book and the Green Book.^{[footnote 2]},^{[footnote 3]} Good quality monitoring and evaluation evidence is important for helping make and communicate decisions about where best to target public spending and demonstrating value for money. Evaluation evidence provides greater accountability for spending decisions, and enables evidence-based policy making. Furthermore, it allows for systematic learning of ‘what works’,‘what does not work’ and ‘why’.

To remain aligned with HMT’s Magenta Book and Green Book guidance on evaluation, the Cabinet Office uses a combination of three primary evaluation types: 

• Process evaluations, which assess how the policy or programme is being, or has been, delivered and whether improvements can be made. This is often through collecting and analysing stakeholder perceptions and administrative data. Process evaluations cover questions relating to how the policy or programme worked, for whom, why, and unforeseen effects. In general, process-related questions are intentionally descriptive and, as such, we will employ a wide range of data collection and analysis techniques.
• Impact evaluations, which examine the effects an intervention has on specific groups — e.g. Other Government Departments, businesses, or citizens — to look at whether the policy or programme has driven the wider change it set out to achieve. Impact evaluations assess what changes have occurred, what difference the intervention has made and why. They answer questions such as: did it achieve its stated objectives; who did the intervention affect; how did the effects vary across individuals, groups, sectors, geography, and time; what were the intended and unintended outcomes of the intervention. This is investigated through theory-based, experimental, and/or quasi experimental approaches.
• Value for Money (VfM) evaluations compare the benefits of an intervention against its costs, including any unintended benefits and costs. By building on process and impact evaluations, VfM evaluation assesses whether an intervention represents an effective use of public resources to achieve intended outcomes. Specifically, a VfM evaluation considers whether a policy’s benefits outweigh its costs. It also assesses social value by comparing costs and benefits that affect the overall welfare and wellbeing of the population. Ultimately, VfM evaluation is essential for determining whether an intervention represents a good use of public resources.

The department is also committed to pursuing innovation in evaluation and supporting others to respond to rapid developments in the use of technology within the public sector, ensuring evaluation approaches reflect changing policy cycles/designs. This includes promoting the use of test and learn and adaptive evaluation to support decisions in fast-paced policy environments, and best practice principles for evaluating the impact of AI interventions. 

Our progress

The 2023–2024 strategy established a vision for developing strong evaluation foundations through targeted improvements to governance, capability, and standards. Progress against these measures is detailed in the table below, reflecting the successful delivery of key foundational actions.

Table 1: Cabinet Office Evaluation Strategy (2023-24) progress update

Objective	Aim	Progress
Governance	Embed monitoring and evaluation requirements in governance and processes to ensure evaluation is considered at key stages of the policy process.	- A Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for evaluation has been appointed.  - All Cabinet Office business cases, seeking approval for spend, must now include a proportionate evaluation plan or justification for not taking forward an evaluation. This plan is reviewed by the Cabinet Office Investment Committee.  - Cabinet Office Analysis Function Executive Board (COAF Exec) and Shadow Board has been established as part of the analytical governance. This includes oversight of evaluation within a wider portfolio of analysis. - As part of our commitment to report annually against the Concordat for Research Integrity, we gather information about all research and evaluation carried out within the Cabinet Office.  - Cabinet Office evaluations are now formally entered into the Evaluation Registry.  - As part of the Spending Review process, evaluation plans were produced for proposed spend areas, and reviewed as part of spending decisions.
Capability	Ensure Cabinet Office analysts and policy makers have access to the necessary expertise and tools to deliver robust and proportionate evaluation.	- Detailed guidance on conducting evaluations provided by the Evaluation Task Force, the Government Social Research Profession, and Magenta Book has been produced and promoted internally within the Cabinet Office. - The department is an active member of the cross-government evaluation group (CGEG). - Cabinet Office trainers have run the Evaluation Academy training sessions since 2023, which cover a range of topics related to evaluating policies and programmes. To date, over 100 Cabinet Office employees have been upskilled as a result of the academy.
Standards	Ensure standards are in line with best practice and that appropriate assurance is sought.	- All Cabinet Office research and evaluation projects are required to adhere to the Government Social Research (GSR) Publication Protocol[footnote 4] and follow the HMT Green Book and Magenta Book. This is monitored by the Evaluation Task Force. - New Quality Assurance guidance for research in the Cabinet Office research has been published internally. It outlines that Internal (within-team) and external (beyond-team) peer review of evaluation plans/methodology and outputs take place. Further guidance on the commissioning of evaluations has also been issued and circulated with analysts across the department.

Progress has been made in delivering the foundational commitments of the previous strategy. This has been achieved by strengthening oversight, expanding technical expertise, and ensuring all evaluation work aligns with established government standards. A detailed summary of these advancements in governance, capability, and standards is provided below.

Governance

The department appointed a named Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for Evaluation to oversee the strategy’s implementation and champion an evaluation culture. This role involves working with Heads of Profession and project-specific SROs to help maintain quality standards through a collaborative approach.

Departmental oversight has been further strengthened with 90 Cabinet Office programmes registered with the Evaluation Registry. The Cabinet Office has published evaluations and evidence reviews on a wide range of policy areas, including the High Potential Senior Leaders Programme, Places for Growth, the Civil Service-wide annual learning initiative programme One Big Thing, workforce skills and productivity, the Evaluation Academy, and Common Frameworks. This work is further expanded by impact studies (ongoing or already completed) of professional development, leadership initiatives, and regional benefits and staff relocation experience, including:

• Digital Excellence Programme, an online training programme for senior civil servants (see Case Study 1).
• The Future Leaders Scheme, a cross government development scheme for high potential grade 6 and 7 civil servants. ^{[footnote 5]}
• The Senior Leaders Scheme, which is a cross government development scheme for civil servants at deputy director level. ^{[footnote 6]}
• Places for Growth, which aimed to relocate 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants outside of London by 2030, as well as 22,000 other roles by 2027. ^{[footnote 7]}

Case Study 1: Pilot Randomised Control Trial of the Digital Excellence Programme (DEP) 

Programme

The Digital Excellence Programme (DEP) is an online training programme consisting of a series of modules, primarily targeted at Senior Civil Servants. The training aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to lead modern public services. It is made up of four modules covering: Data Culture, Digital Culture, User-centred Culture and AI Confidence.

Evaluation

This project was a small-scale pilot randomised control trial (RCT) of the Digital Excellence Programme (DEP). The research was conducted by an external supplier, ICF Consulting Services Ltd, on behalf of Government Skills (part of Cabinet Office).  It was funded by the Labour Markets Evaluation and Pilots Fund. 

The aims were to test the feasibility of a full trial and to gather initial evidence about the effect of the programme.

Key Findings

The evaluation made the following key findings:

Preliminary findings suggest that the DEP produced a positive effect overall on behaviours and attitudes, although not on a new measure of self-reported productivity. Similar effects were found for each of the three individual training modules covered by the evaluation (Data Culture, Digital Culture and AI Confidence). Effect size estimates were found to range considerably.

No evidence was found that DEP improved self-reported measures of productivity, with no significant differences between trial and control groups after the training was undertaken. However, it is important to note that the measures of productivity were newly developed indicators that had not been validated in other studies, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. 

Experiences of the DEP were mainly positive - nearly two-thirds (60%) of DEP participants thought the programme was relevant to their role. 

There was supporting evidence that the mechanism of change, through which it was anticipated the programme would influence outcomes, was operating as expected. 

Most participants in the intervention group expressed positive sentiments about taking part in the RCT, with 71% indicating that they were very or somewhat satisfied with their experience of participating. However, across many of the metrics around the experience of participation, control group participants were less satisfied. 

This RCT formed part of a wider set of research projects designed to support Government Skills’ understanding of skills and productivity, including two systematic reviews. The first review provided strong evidence for a positive association between skills and productivity in the public sector. The second review synthesised the evidence on the features of effective learning design that may support improved productivity outcomes. Taken together, this evidence base has formed the foundations for further curriculum and training design work for civil servants. 

Impact

The findings of the RCT are now being used to inform the design of future training for senior leaders in digital, data, innovation and AI.

The project acts as an example of an RCT of senior government stakeholder training, which at the time the project was being delivered, were relatively rare. By conducting this pilot RCT, Government Skills were able to demonstrate the feasibility of running similar experimental evaluations of digital upskilling and other training in the future. 

As well as a report and research summary, the project will inform a new resource with guidance on conducting RCTs for skills interventions within government. This guidance is expected to be published in 2026.
For more information, see Pilot Randomised Control Trial of Digital Excellent Programme (PDF, 505KB)

Since 2024, business cases seeking sign-off from the Cabinet Office Investment Committee require a proportionate evaluation plan, ensuring that monitoring and evaluation are integrated into the project lifecycle. The department has made steady progress in producing and registering these plans and will continue to improve on embedding and coordinating these practices.

In alignment with the Research Concordat, the department collates an annual summary of research activity. We will use this to review and ensure evaluation expertise and resources are being proportionately used and effectively aligned with our highest-priority areas.

Capability

This focus on oversight is complemented by a broader commitment to building evaluation capability across the department.The Evaluation Task Force’s “Evaluation Academy”, led out of the Cabinet Office, is a “train-the-trainer” programme designed to upskill civil service analysts in technical evaluation methods and soft skills, enabling them to teach and improve the quality of policy evaluation within their own departments. 

The Evaluation Academy provides a comprehensive curriculum that bridges foundational concepts, such as developing a Theory of Change and scoping evaluations, with more advanced technical training in designing and delivering rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluations. By involving colleagues from areas such as Finance, Policy, and Project Delivery, the department has helped foster a shared understanding of evaluation across diverse teams.This comprehensive training programme bridges the gap between policy design and technical analysis. 

Cabinet Office trainers have delivered multiple rounds of the Evaluation Academy Training and have upskilled 101 people within the department.

Case Study 2: Evaluation Academy 2025 - Impact and Process Evaluation

Programme

The Evaluation Academy is a capability building course, developed by the Evaluation Task Force (ETF) in the Cabinet Office. It uses a train-the-trainer model to upskill analysts to be able to teach others about evaluation methods. It was designed to address the evaluation capability gap across government. 

Evaluation

The ETF conducted an evaluation of Phase 1 of the Academy. The implementation and process evaluation aimed to understand participants’ experience, barriers and opportunities for effective participation, and recommendations for future delivery. 

The impact evaluation aimed to understand the causal impact of the training on participant confidence, network size, and technical evaluation knowledge. The impact evaluation consisted of a two-arm waitlist randomised controlled trial. 

Findings

The results of the impact evaluation indicate that stage 1 of the Evaluation Academy was successful in achieving its primary short-term objectives. 

• There was a significant increase in participant confidence in delivering evaluation training as a result of the Academy training. 
• There was a significant increase in participant network size as a result of the Academy training. 
• There was no significant increase in participant technical knowledge as a result of the Academy training. However, there was no negative impact on knowledge.

Impact

The findings of the evaluation have been used to improve subsequent phases of the Academy to address participants’ feedback and achieve a greater impact. The evaluation is also being used to inform the development of new evaluation training for Policy Professionals across government. 

For more information, see Evaluation Academy - Final Evaluation Report 2025

The Cabinet Office also provides detailed evaluation guidance on the intranet to equip staff with the knowledge needed to understand what an evaluation is, why it is important, and how best to conduct or commission one. This resource supports the requirement to present evaluation plans when submitting business cases for spending approval and encourages early consideration of necessary resourcing. By highlighting helpful tools and methodologies, the guidance assists in identifying the most appropriate evaluation approach for different project types. 

To further strengthen departmental capability, the Cabinet Office is an active member of the Cross-Government Evaluation Group (CGEG). This participation ensures a continuous exchange of best practices across the Civil Service, allowing the department to align internal expertise with wider government standards and emerging methodologies.

Standards

The Cabinet Office adheres to evaluation guidance and requirements set out in the Magenta Book and Green Book to ensure that all evaluations are proportionate and of high quality. The department receives regular scrutiny and advice from the Evaluation Task Force to ensure consistency in standards.

To further raise evaluation standards, the department has provided detailed evaluation guidance on the intranet and introduced a requirement for all business cases to submit a proportionate evaluation plan when seeking approval at the Cabinet Office Investment Committee.

Quality assurance guidance for the department has been updated, and sets out clear and ambitious expectations for proportionate peer review and quality assurance to be embedded in all research and evaluation work.

Future Directions

Progress has been made in implementing foundational changes; however, further steps will be taken to ensure the Cabinet Office continues to deliver proportionate, high-quality evaluation consistently across the department. Future activity will focus on strengthening aspects of governance, capability, standards, and prioritisation.

Governance: Enhancing Oversight and Transparency

To strengthen governance, the department will focus on the following:

• Optimising the use of Existing Evaluation Resources: The department will look to further optimise existing tools through the continued use and review of the Evaluation Registry. By acting as a central repository for Cabinet Office evaluations, the registry allows for a better understanding of the research portfolio’s reach. Periodically reviewing the use of this information will help ensure that findings are available to support future policy design and promote the sharing of best practices across the organisation. Additionally, the department will continue to collate an annual summary of research activity to ensure evaluation expertise and resources are being proportionately used and effectively aligned with our highest-priority areas.
• Reinforcing evaluation within finance governance: The department will continue to reinforce evaluation within finance governance by continuing to require evaluation plans for Investment Committees. 

Capability: Innovation and Technical Excellence

The department will continue to focus on building greater evaluation expertise among analysts and familiarity among other professions represented in the Cabinet Office. This ensures that staff are equipped to handle increasingly complex policy landscapes by maturing the following areas:

• Adopting New Standards: The department will look to align internal practices with evolving government standards, such as the updated HMT’s Magenta Book guidance on evaluating AI interventions.^{[footnote 8]} This focus ensures that evaluations take account of ethical, transparency and methodological challenges posed by emerging technologies.
• Continued Upskilling and Professional Development: Opportunities for specialist training will be made available to help staff apply various evaluation methods and approaches, including Test & Learn, Place-Based evaluation, Value for Money or the use of AI in evaluation. To support this, the department will continue to highlight external expertise from bodies like the What Works Network and academic specialists.^{[footnote 9]}
• Reviewing capacity: Review the evaluation capacity available across the department, and ensure it is sufficient and aligned to the department’s priorities and commitments. Specifically, assess the need for a central evaluation team.

Standards: Upholding Rigour and Impact

To ensure all evaluation work meets high standards, the department will focus on the following commitments:

• Supporting Evaluation Thinking in Policy: Resources remain available for policy professionals to further develop their evaluation skills, helping evidence stay central to project delivery. This aligns with the 2024 Policy Profession Standards, which highlight evaluation as a helpful, day-to-day tool for understanding impact.^{[footnote 10]} As well as departmental resources, the What Works Network provides a range of training, support and guidance for impact evaluation that policy professionals are encouraged to access.^{[footnote 11]} These resources, as well as other external training will be promoted to policy professional through existing newsletter and other channels.
• Promoting Best Practice for AI: The department will seek to align with the key principles outlined in the latest guidance on both the evaluation of AI-led initiatives and the ethical application of AI methodologies within the evaluation process itself. This ensures that as technology evolves, the rigour of assessments remains consistent with high government standards while allowing for flexibility as new methodologies emerge. To operationalise these principles, the department is developing an AI Evaluation Strategy, underpinned by a department-wide Theory of Change, which translates central government evaluation standards into practical application. This approach is currently being utilised to conduct mixed-methods evaluations of bespoke internal tools, such as GovDraft, and the assessment of enterprise-wide rollouts like Google Gemini.
• Prioritisation: The department will also continue to apply and improve upon the criteria used to guide evaluation decisions consistent with HMT’s Magenta Book guidance. This process ensures that the scale and rigor of each evaluation are proportionate based on a range of criteria including impact and reach, innovation and novelty, financial investment, public profile, and evidence gaps.
• Measuring impact: The department will take steps to ensure all policies and programs are underpinned by high-quality evidence. Impact evaluations will be conducted for initiatives where appropriate and proportionate, based on an assessment of feasibility. The policy making cycle of ‘ROAMEF’^{[footnote 12]}, discussed in HMT’s Green Book^{[footnote 13]}, outlines how effective monitoring and evaluation helps us systematically plan, implement, review, and use feedback loops to refine interventions. We will continue to build feedback and learning loops in the department where Cabinet Office evaluation leads will periodically disseminate findings and the impact of interventions through existing newsletters and channels. 

Concluding Remarks

With strong foundations now in place, we are dedicated to making evaluation a practical and relevant feature of our work. This strategy acts as a flexible framework, helping evidence and shared learning to deliver greater public value.

As we look ahead, we will continue to refine our processes to stay agile and responsive to the government’s core priorities. By empowering our people with the right skills and tools, we ensure that the department remains well-equipped to deliver a modern, productive, and evidence-led state.

This document will undergo regular internal review and the strategy will be updated again in 2030.

1. Magenta Book (PDF, 1,823KB) ↩

2. Magenta Book (PDF, 1,823KB) ↩

3. Green Book ↩

4. Government Social Research Publication Protocol ↩

5. Future Leaders Scheme Evaluation ↩

6. Senior Leaders Scheme Evaluation ↩

7. Places For Growth Evaluation Report (PDF, 2.4MB) ↩

8. Guidance on the Impact Evaluation of AI Interventions ↩

9. What Works Network Strategy (PDF, 607KB) ↩

10. Policy Profession Standards (PDF, 1,014KB) ↩

11. What Works Network ↩

12. ROAMREF: Rationale, Objectives, Appraisal, Monitoring, Evaluation, Feedback. ↩

13. The Green Book (PDF, 951KB) ↩