Life Chances Fund evaluation: final report on the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership
The final evaluation of the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership, funded through the Life Chances Fund.
Applies to England
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This is the third and final report of a longitudinal evaluation of the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership (KBOP). KBOP seeks to improve accommodation, employment, stability and wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable adults who are in need of support to live independently.
KBOP was part-funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) under the Life Chances Fund (LCF). The LCF ran from 2016 to 2025 as a locally-led Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOP) fund to tackle entrenched social issues across England. The LCF contributed to SOP projects through payments by results contracts. These contracts involved social investors and were locally commissioned. DCMS is working in partnership with the Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab) to evaluate the LCF and the use of SOPs in local commissioning.
KBOP was selected for specific longitudinal study because it was preceded by a similar non-SOP service contract between the Council and the same providers. Analysis of this changed contractual arrangement may help to isolate the effect of the SOP model on service delivery.
Using the hypotheses developed in the first interim evaluation to explore the ‘mechanisms’ of the KBOP SOP, this final report seeks to validate and complement findings from the second interim evaluation. This final report takes into account a wider range of stakeholders (including frontline staff and service users) and methods. By doing so, it captures both the sustained impacts of the SOP mechanism relating to the four hypotheses and the challenges arising from the transition towards the end of the contract.