CENTRE FOR HOMELESSNESS IMPACT 

A research project to identify and test interventions that stand to improve workplace wellbeing and reduce burnout among frontline workers working in homelessness in the UK

This grant will fund research into the impact of providing care leavers with a lump sum cash transfer.This project has two main research questions;1) What is the impact of providing cash transfers to ....more

This grant will fund research into the impact of providing care leavers with a lump sum cash transfer.This project has two main research questions;1) What is the impact of providing cash transfers to care leavers on their 18th birthdayon their likelihood of becoming homeless2) Are cash transfers of this kind value for moneyWithin the first question, we have three main outcome measures;1) Number of spells of homelessness2) Total number of days experiencing homeless3) An aggregate measure capturing both (1) and (2)In the longer term, we will investigate impacts on secondary outcomes including educationalattainment and progression, employment, and contact with the criminal justice system. As Homelessness is a foundational outcome, which is both predicted by, and predicts, a rangeof other shared outcomes, this evaluation will be designed to ensure that any benefits acrossdifferent policy domains and shared outcomes are measured. Due to the nature of theintervention, we will also investigate the impacts on young peoples finances, financialcapability, and sense of financial security, including income from jobs, amounts of debt, andso on.This longer term follow up will be made dramatically easier by selecting our sample fromyoung people within the COSMO Cohort Study, who will continue to be followed up byresearchers into the long term (some cohort studies have run for several decades).

We will select the interventions to be trialled during the first months of the project beginning, with a view to rolling out trials as rapidly as possible.However, we are able to articulate some of ....more

We will select the interventions to be trialled during the first months of the project beginning, with a view to rolling out trials as rapidly as possible.However, we are able to articulate some of our evaluation aims at this stage. Theseare;Identifying the longer term impacts of social interventionsIdentifying a wider range of outcomes from social interventions (withappropriate statistical controls)Testing theories of change linked to common and shared outcomes acrosswhat works centres and government departments.Behind these sit our overall evaluation aim, which is to establish ways of workingfor what works centres and cohort studies in such a way as allows the two groupsto collaborate into the future and beyond the time period of this funding itself.

This project will entail a series of evaluations of multiple projects conducted by local authorities around England to support young care leavers (aged between 16 and 18) into independent living as ....more

This project will entail a series of evaluations of multiple projects conducted by local authorities around England to support young care leavers (aged between 16 and 18) into independent living as adults and avoiding homelessness and specifically rough sleeping. Although these interventionsdiffer - even within the twelve interventions that make up Staying Close - they share a commongoal: reducing homelessness among young people leaving care, and a common focus on socialsupport, some financial support for young people or carers, and preparation for independence.For each evaluation, we aim to answer two main research questions:What is the impact of intervention on homelessness among young care leaversWhat is the cost-per-unit-of-effect of interventionThese research questions will make use of three outcome measures, as well as cost data. Theseoutcome measures are:1) Number of spells of homelessness2) Number of days spent homeless3) An aggregated metric combining (1) and (2)Homelessness and the quality and appropriateness of accommodation have substantial knock-oneffects into other domains. As such, we also propose looking at a series of shared outcomes,specifically: educational attainment and progression, employment, and contacts with the criminaljustice system.The evaluation will also make use of cost and benefit data, based on both the green book and theframework for cost evaluations of interventions in childrens social care and homelessness, to assessthe absolute and relative value for money of each of the interventions to be evaluated. This will be based on both experiences of homelessness, and the extent to which homelessness or housinginstability increases service utilisation.

Much of the work undertaken under this project will not be specific evaluations of particularinterventions. However, we will be undertaking a number of evaluations of interventionsover the period of ....more

Much of the work undertaken under this project will not be specific evaluations of particularinterventions. However, we will be undertaking a number of evaluations of interventionsover the period of the funding, to develop and refine particular methodologies. These are;Rapid method trialsOur research partners at KCL have developed (Sanders and Whelan, 2022), a rapidmethod for conducting randomised controlled trials in public and social policy settings.This method is adapted from the rapid method pioneered by Professor Sarah Gilbert,which was most prominently used in the development of the Oxford/AstrazenecaCOVID-19 Vaccine, and recounted in GIlbert and Green (2021).These methods show promise as a means of developing useful evidence more quickly andmore reliably, while reducing the number of false negatives in empirical research.Over the course of the funding period, we will work with government departments and whatworks centres to identify and conduct 4 trials deploying this rapid methodStepped Wedge TrialsStepped Wedge Trials are those in which an intervention is rolled out over a period of timeto new participant groups of locations, and in which the order of this rollout is conducted atrandom. This method is ideally suited to the evaluation of a government policy orintervention which is to be rolled out over time, and where the order of the rollout wouldotherwise be arbitrary. Despite this, very few stepped wedge trials have been used insocial policy research. Examples of previous studies in this area include Sanders et al(2021), and Sanders et al (2019a,b,c).Over the course of the period covered by this funding, we will identify interventions beingrolled out across the domains supported by what works centres, and support them toconduct stepped wedge trials of at least two such interventions. At the same time, we willdevelop new statistical tools for sample size calculation for stepped wedge trials, which arecurrently poorly and unreliably specified.As well as publishing protocols for these studies and their findings, we will publish practicalguides to support future researchers to conduct them.

Core costs

A Randomised Control Trial (RCT) to test the impact of providing financial assistance of £2,000 to individuals with experiences of homelessness in the UK, with no conditions on how funds can be ....more

A Randomised Control Trial (RCT) to test the impact of providing financial assistance of £2,000 to individuals with experiences of homelessness in the UK, with no conditions on how funds can be spent

End It With Evidence: Building a movement to end homelessness sustainably. The Centre is a catalyst for the evidence-informed transformation of the homelessness sector. Our bid seeks funding of ....more

End It With Evidence: Building a movement to end homelessness sustainably. The Centre is a catalyst for the evidence-informed transformation of the homelessness sector. Our bid seeks funding of £600k over three years for a UK-wide programme to change the sector?s culture by scaling our network of leaders, practitioners and people with lived experience (hereafter referred to as ?communities?) who are committed to evidence-based ways of working. The proposed programme includes: a campaign (?End it with evidence?) to help grow the ?what works? movement in homelessness, including a bi-annual UK-wide learning festival. an expanded Capability Building Programme: extending our What Works Community Initiative, currently focused on local government staff, to VCS practitioners and experts by experience, and helping them develop and test new approaches, that will be managed through locality-based Impact Chapters. a What Works Media Programme, led by experts by experience, to harness the power of non-fiction storytelling and filmmaking to showcase effective change. It will include an annual Impact Prize for the best piece of written or video-based reportage ? whether by a journalist, practitioner or person with lived experience - on what works in homelessness. an Ambassadors Network: a group of senior practitioners and influencers who support the vision and can help us build more momentum for the programme through publications and speaking engagements, and also through assisting us with the delivery of the other activities listed above. This work matters because we know that simply disseminating evidence is not sufficient to bring about change: we also need to build a network of people who are committed to real lasting change. Your money would help us take our network-building and cultural-change activity to the next level - and will thereby help to improve the lives of people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.