Guidance

National School Evidence Centre Strategy Summary (HTML)

Published 26 October 2026

Our mission

The National School Evidence Centre will deliver the data and evidence needed for world-class training, learning and skills development in government and public services.

The Challenge

The National School must be informed by evidence and evaluated to have real impact,  so we can keep improving the learning and development civil servants receive and demonstrate the value of investing in skills. While we have made progress, there are still critical data and evidence gaps.

Our Purpose

The evidence centre is an essential foundation for the National School. Our core purpose is to guide the National School in what works. We give decision-makers and practitioners the evidence they need to drive impact. We curate the best learning and skills evidence and methods, and innovate in our own work to fill critical gaps.

• An evidence-enabled National School
  • Data innovation to generate timely insights and drive continuous improvement
  • Synthesising and producing research, evaluation and economic analysis
  • Supporting strategy with cutting-edge methods and research innovation
  • Transforming practice through evidence mobilisation and partnerships

Our Priorities 

• Identifying what data and evidence the National School needs to have impact
• Sourcing, synthesising and generating required evidence and data - being confident to innovate and partner where we need to, so we can solve difficult problems.
• Developing intuitive and efficient data systems and monitoring tools to provide timely, accurate insight that drive continuous improvement.
• Enabling learning and development practice by communicating evidence in practical and useful ways.
• Working with our College of Experts, and publishing transparently, to improve the flow of learning and skills evidence across the public sector and beyond

Our offer

Learning practitioners

Research translated into practical tools and guidance to support effective design and delivery.

Timely data-driven insights, to support continuous improvement.

Evaluations which capture the outcomes and impact that matter, and make actionable recommendations.

National School Leadership

Usable data and evidence-based decision tools.

Insightful research and analysis that informs strategic decisions.

Big picture thinking delivered through benchmarking, trend analysis, futures, foresight, economics and participation.

Other Government departments

Relevant and aligned data and evidence to understand trends and progress.

Partnerships and advice to improve data and evidence on skills, learning and development.

External stakeholders

Access to Evidence Centre outputs and guidance, available to all.

A clear account of what’s going well and where the National School needs to improve, to create accountability and drive public value.

1. Launch
2. Develop and Deliver
3. Reflect

Our pathway to impact

1. Our first step after launch is to be clear on what data, evidence and relationships we have, and what we need, to support the National School to have maximum impact. This includes maximising the value of our College of Experts from the start.
2. The main focus of our work will be to synthesise and use existing data and evidence, selectively doing new, innovative research and analysis where there are gaps. We will co-design our work with the users of the evidence and data, and ensure our findings are shared in usable ways that have high impact.
3. We will publish our evidence and progress, and monitor our activities tomake continuous improvements. After three years we will publish a summative report which assesses our success, and sets out what future data and evidence is needed based on the progress made.