What Works Network
The What Works Network uses evidence to improve the design and delivery of public services.
Introduction
The What Works Network aims to improve the way government and other public sector organisations create, share and use high-quality evidence in decision-making. It supports more effective and efficient services across the public sector at national and local levels.
Read the What Works Network: Five Years On report, published in January 2018. An earlier report, What Works? Evidence for decision-makers, was published in November 2014
What Works is based on the principle that good decision-making should be informed by the best available evidence. If evidence is not available, decision-makers should use high-quality methods to find out what works.
The What Works Network
The network is made up of 9 independent What Works Centres, 3 affiliate members and one associate member. Together, these centres cover policy areas which account for more than £250 billion of public spending. What Works Centres are different from standard research institutions. Each centre is committed to increasing both the supply of and demand for evidence in their policy area, and their output is tailored to the needs of decision-makers.
The centres help to ensure that robust evidence shapes decision-making at every level, by
- collating existing evidence on the effectiveness of programmes and practices
- producing high-quality synthesis reports and systematic reviews in areas where they do not currently exist
- assessing the effectiveness of policies and practices against an agreed set of outcomes
- filling gaps in the evidence base by commissioning new trials and evaluations
- sharing findings in an accessible way
- supporting practitioners, commissioners and policymakers to use these findings to inform their decisions
The current What Works Centres are:
| What Works Centre | Policy area |
|---|---|
| National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) | Health and social care |
| Education Endowment Foundation | Educational achievement |
| College of Policing What Works Centre for Crime Reduction | Crime reduction |
| Early Intervention Foundation** | Early intervention |
| What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth (hosted by LSE, Arup, Centre for Cities) | Local economic growth |
| Centre for Ageing Better | Improving quality of life for older people |
| What Works Centre for Wellbeing | Wellbeing |
| Centre for Homelessness Impact | Homelessness |
| What Works for Children’s Social Care** | Children’s social care |
| Youth Futures Foundation | Youth employment |
| Affiliate: Youth Endowment Fund | Youth offending |
| Affiliate: Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education | Higher Education |
| Affiliate: The Money and Pensions Service | Financial wellbeing |
| Associate: Wales Centre for Public Policy |
**The Early Intervention Foundation and What Works for Children’s Social Care are undertaking steps towards the merger of the two charities.
The new merged organisation is operating initially under the working name of What Works for Early Intervention and Children’s Social Care.
The Centres are funded by a combination of government and non-government sources including the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Dormant Assets Scheme, and the National Lottery Community Fund.
The Evaluation Task Force, as the secretariat, promote and support the independent What Works Network.
More information on What Works
Follow us on Twitter @whatworksuk or contact us at etf@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
Last updated 17 January 2023 + show all updates
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Included information on the merger of the Early Intervention Foundation and What Works for Children's Social Care.
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On 31 October 2022, Prof David Halpern reached the 10-year limit of public appointment as the What Works National Adviser.
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Youth Futures Foundation has now been promoted from an affiliate member to a What Works Centre. The Money and Pension Service is now an affiliate member. The What Works Team has now been dissolved; the Evaluation Task Force is now the secretariat of the What Works Network.
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Removed an associate member
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Added section on 'What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care'.
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Have updated information on the Early Intervention Foundation and Centre for Better Ageing.
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Latest report details added.
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Updated a link.
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Updated links
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Updated information about the centres and added links to new guidance publications.
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Added link to new report: 'What Works? Evidence for decision makers'.
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Information on the new What Works Centre for Wellbeing added.
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Updated to include latest information on the What Works centres.
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Updated with more information about What Works centres for economic growth and crime reduction
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First published.