Foreword

Foreword from the Director for Analysis and Data and Chief Economist.

The Changing Futures programme is a £91.8 million initiative between government and The National Lottery Community Fund. It seeks to test innovative approaches to improving outcomes for people experiencing multiple disadvantage – including homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system. The programme is running in fifteen areas across England, between them covering 34 top tier council areas, from 2021 to 2026.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) appointed a consortium of organisations, led by CFE Research, and including Cordis Bright, Revolving Doors, and The Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) at the University of Sheffield, to undertake an independent evaluation of the Changing Futures programme. This guide was written by CFE Research in June 2025. It is part of a series of evaluation outputs produced for the Changing Futures programme by the evaluation team.

This practical guide is intended to support those looking to lead or contribute to systems change within their organisation or local system. It is not a guide to systems change, but instead shares systems change learning informed by manageable challenges faced by Changing Futures areas and how they were addressed. The guide is designed for selective reading where required, with standalone chapters that can be dipped into individually. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of systems change, including securing strategic buy-in and alignment, improving data and insight, supporting trauma-informed working, joining up services and addressing gaps in support, ensuring equity for underserved groups, and creating a learning culture.

Insights and advice from Changing Futures colleagues across England informed the development of this guide. It draws on evidence from the national evaluation of the Changing Futures programme and interviews with staff from various Changing Futures areas about their experiences implementing systems change.

My great appreciation goes to CFE Research for writing this guide, and their enormous effort conducting research and synthesising evidence for the Changing Futures evaluation. The authors and I would like to thank the national and local stakeholders for their involvement in this research.

For more information on this report please contact cfp@communities.gov.uk.

Stephen Aldridge
Director for Analysis and Data & Chief Economist
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government