Research and analysis

Summary: Intensive Activity Programme trial evaluation: evidence synthesis

Published 4 August 2016

By Will Downes and Martin Moran

The Intensive Activity Programme (IAP) was a package of intensive support and structured activities that claimants were required to complete within 21 days of making a new claim. It was designed to support effective full-time job seeking from the earliest stage of the claim and accelerate movement into work and off unemployment benefit.

Claimants were required to complete the IAP curriculum while also conducting a comprehensive job search. To support and monitor progress, claimants had face-to-face meetings with work coaches and took part in group workshops which focused on the curriculum.

For 6 months from spring 2015, the IAP was implemented by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as a randomised controlled trial across 7 Jobcentre Plus offices to fully assess its impact. The evaluation strategy involved various quantitative and qualitative strands of research.

This summary report presents the key findings from the IAP trial in terms of:

• programme experience and delivery for staff and claimants

• the effect on claimant attitudes and confidence toward job seeking

• claimant employment outcomes and movement off benefits

Research strands led by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) were the development of a theory of change, longitudinal claimant interviews, and observations of IAP services in Jobcentre Plus offices. Strands led by DWP included staff interviews, a quantitative assessment of benefit and employment impacts and sub-group analysis.

For further detail on this research, please see the full IAP research reports.

1. The IAP theory of change

Before fieldwork, a theoretical model known as a ‘theory of change’ was developed to detail the intended ways in which the IAP would progress claimants. This acted as the benchmark against which claimant experiences were evaluated, to assess whether the intervention was working as the model’s assumptions intended.

Assumptions of the theory of change included that:

• the IAP would support individuals to become effective, active and persistent jobseekers from the earliest stage of their claim, and accelerate their entry into employment and the end of their claims

• the IAP would assist claimants to find sustainable work, not just any job, and equip them with the skills to master transitions between employers

• claimants would recall the IAP activities and would be effective in applying them in future situations

• the planned provision would be tailored towards individuals’ skills and capabilities and would encourage attention to the quality of job-seeking activities

• through engaging with IAP, individuals’ confidence and ownership of their job search would increase and they would display more positive attitudes to the process – because they understood it better

• while the curriculum would not be needed in full by all claimants, all would be able to benefit from some of the learning it delivered

• work coaches would be at the heart of IAP, emanating the Jobcentre Plus cultural transformation and leading coaching and quality-checking activities that encouraged continuous improvement in job search activities

• during an initial work search interview (IWSI), work coaches would encourage claimants to engage with the IAP for the advantages they would gain – so getting ‘buy in’ without needing to mandate claimants to attend

• being part of IAP workshops would have several positive effects: workshops would deliver hints and tips on job-seeking, and being part of a group would reduce any sense of isolation in unemployment while also developing positive social norms

• the workshop environment would foster collaboration and sharing of ideas and experiences, while networking space would allow claimants to continue discussions with peers after workshops

• while few obstacles to the achievement of eventual outcomes were perceived, local labour market, logistical issues and the adequacy of staff training were identified

2. Key findings

IAP met the core ambitions of the theory of change. IAP is shown to support individuals to become effective, active jobseekers from the earliest stage of their claim. Impact analysis indicated that the IAP group were more likely to be off benefit and in work by the fifth week of their claim in comparison to the control group who received business as usual (BAU) support. This indicates that IAP had accelerated movement into work and off benefit.

Longer-term findings suggest that IAP’s effects are sustained. The persistence of a positive effect over the first 9 months from the point of claim suggests a long term role of IAP in moving more claimants towards sustainable employment. IAP claimants on average spent 11 more days off benefit than BAU claimants in the first 9 months since making their claim. The uncertainty in the data indicates that the true figure is likely to be at least 5.5 days and no greater than 17. No significant differences between impacts of different sub-groups of claimants were found.

Many staff felt able to draw on ‘selling points’ of IAP, emphasising its interactivity and intensive skills development, and many claimants were motivated at the outset without work coaches having to mandate their attendance. However, this approach sometimes fell flat when claimants noticed an emphasis on sanctions in letters, or felt that work coaches failed to communicate IAP’s benefits in detail.

Most claimants either learned new skills or welcomed the opportunity to revise their job search techniques. The value of the IAP curriculum and Getting Started Handbook did depend on the existing job search competency of claimants.

Work coaches successfully facilitated knowledge sharing between claimants in workshops, rather than instructing them. This new approach was welcomed by both staff and claimants and many claimants drew substantial benefits from workshops. Claimant and staff research suggested that important driving factors of successful group sessions included that facilitators shared and tailored the IAP curriculum to individual circumstances, and that the diversity in age and experience of claimants enabled knowledge sharing between participants and the creation of a positive learning environment. For claimants with interest or experience in specialist sectors, or who displayed existing proficiency in job-seeking, however, the sessions were felt to be less useful.

Staff successfully created environments that fostered interaction and collaboration. While some claimants were difficult to engage, most drew significant benefits from the workshops. Staff felt that the comfortable environment encouraged claimants to contribute.

Follow-up one-to-one meetings were important to sustaining claimants’ initial progress made in work at home activities and workshops. However, some claimants felt this feedback was not sufficiently detailed or focused on their input to tasks.

After the IAP workshops, many claimants displayed improvements in confidence and enthusiasm for job-seeking. Many IAP claimants believed that they had picked up several hints and tips from the programme, and that their applications and search strategy had improved. Those interviewed aged over 45 were less likely than younger claimants to attribute improvements to IAP.

Staff viewed IAP positively and indicated increased job satisfaction. They acknowledged and welcomed the cultural change towards facilitation, and felt that the curriculum was comprehensive and useful for most claimants. Views varied on whether discretion should be given to staff to target parts of the curriculum to claimants who they believed would benefit most.

Read the full report – Intensive Activity Programme trial evaluation: evidence synthesis