The evidence is clear that investments in education deliver outsized returns to society. CEI collaborations across the education sector are a focus in this month’s newsletter - from supporting the scale up of three evidence-based programs alongside the Education Endowment Foundation to updating impact measurement approaches with global funder Atlassian Foundation, CEI works closely with partners to ensure learners and those who serve them benefit from evidence-informed practices.
We are also pleased to announce a new season of the Evidence and Implementation Summit Virtual Series. The first webinar, on May 10, will spotlight evidence intermediaries, looking at what works for ‘what works'. CEI’s direct delivery of education opportunities is also well underway: do consider registering for our new executive education course at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore on evidence-based policymaking. And come and work with us! We currently have two fabulous senior roles on offer. Read on to learn more and for other important news.
EIS Virtual Series
The 2023 Evidence and Implementation Summit is delighted to announce a new EIS Virtual Series. These sessions will address some of the most important questions in the field, through contributions from leading global experts who bring deep experience across research, policy, and practice. Subscribe to the EIS2023 mailing list to stay abreast of developments in the lead up to the next Summit.
You are warmly invited to join the inaugural webinar:
What works for 'what works'?
10 May 2022
8:30-9:30am BST / 5:30-6:30pm AEST / 3:30-4:30pm SGT
It is widely recognised that there is a very large gap between what we ‘know’ from research and what we ‘do’ in practice: a lag of approximately 17 years from new evidence to its use in mainstream practice. To address the gap, institutions (often called ‘what works’ centres or ‘evidence repositories’) work to identify and fill gaps in the evidence base and to translate evidence to improve decision-making and frontline practice. But these centres have not always achieved their full potential, and a good deal of evidence has remained on the shelf while outdated policy and practice persist. Why is this, and how can it be addressed? In short – what works for ‘what works'?
This session will focus on evidence translation and explore why efforts to close the know-do gap have sometimes faltered. It will consider what institutions tasked with evidence translation and system reform can learn from this and also, crucially, how institutional strategy, skills, and approaches may need to change to drive greater translation of research into routine practice. We welcome your early registration.
Developing a robust approach to assessing impact alongside Atlassian Foundation
Atlassian Foundation is one of the largest and fastest-growing funders of education globally. The foundation has an ambitious program of work in global education, seeking to catalyse change in the sector through funding innovation and supporting ecosystem transformation and collaboration. Over the course of eighteen months, CEI provided ongoing support to Atlassian in a strategic change process, assisting the foundation to revise and redevelop its impact objectives and, later, its approach to monitoring and evaluation and to internal and external impact reporting. Atlassian Foundation is now building on this work, leveraging skilled volunteers to develop sophisticated reporting and insight tools.
Supporting scale-up of education programs with Education Endowment Foundation
CEI is working with the Education Endowment Foundation, the UK’s what works centre for education, to support the scale-up of three school-based programs. The work is funded under the Department for Education's Accelerator Fund, which aims to support schools to access evidence-informed programs. CEI will be supporting three programs, each of which have shown promise in evaluations funded by EEF, to plan strategies and pathways for scaling. CEI’s input is tailored to the strategic issues relevant to each program and includes rapid cycle improvement, determining 'end games' and pathways to scale, assessing market viability, and developing business models. The work will support the spread of effective teaching practice and education recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. We expect these projects to generate rich insight into what it takes to scale up effective education programs – learning that will be of wider value to EEF and to the field as well as to the programs themselves.
Building ‘Aboriginal evidence’ into mainstream service delivery in child welfare
The Family Preservation and Reunification Response (“the Response”) is a key, state-wide Victorian reform that aims to provide earlier intervention and support for children and families in contact with the child protection system and to prevent children from entering out-of-home care. Aboriginal families are over-represented in the child protection and out-of-home care systems in Victoria. It is therefore critical for the Response to ensure Aboriginal families receive a service that is culturally safe, that prioritises their self-determination, and that is informed by the trauma caused by the ongoing impacts of colonisation. Over the last 6 months, CEI has worked alongside partners at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) to design practice modules for the Response that include Cultural Practice Elements aligned with the needs of First Nations communities in Victoria.
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Evidence-based policymaking: A new course from CEI and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
CEI is thrilled to announce that in collaboration with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore we are running 'Evidence-based policymaking', a new Executive Education course designed to empower policy professionals to achieve better results. The course will give policymakers a practical understanding of how to use evidence to improve their work, fuel innovation, support good decision making within their teams, and ultimately accelerate their impact. The application deadline is 29 May.
Sharing insights on how implementation science can support mental health system reform in The Mandarin
Despite the best efforts of dedicated people, changes in complex, multi-layered systems like mental health may not result in improved outcomes for those accessing programs and services. Implementation science offers policymakers and practitioners evidence-backed, accessible methods and approaches that help navigate system complexity as they drive change. Approaches rooted in the discipline have already delivered substantial, sustained impact in mental health systems reform globally.
CEI recently published an article in the The Mandarin on the nine lessons we have learnt from our implementation science partnership work that can support reforms.
Recruiting for a Director and Senior Advisor
We are seeking a Director who will provide organisation-wide leadership across key content areas, provide high-quality project delivery, support and initiate business and client development, and contribute to efforts to build organisational capacity and efficient operations. The Director will join our leadership team, driving and facilitating the delivery of CEI’s vision for impact. If you have a passion for evaluation, evidence, and advancing implementation science, please get in touch. You can find out more here. Applications close Monday April 25th.
We are also recruiting for a Senior Advisor who will provide leadership on a portfolio of projects, advancing implementation science evaluation and research whilst synthesising and implementing evidence to improve policy and practice. This role will join our senior management team in shaping and delivering our strategy. More information is available in our Careers section. Applications for the Senior Advisor role close Monday April 25th.
Events, News and Publications
CEI is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Arild Bjørndal to the position of Associate Director in the UK and Europe. Arild is a Norwegian public health physician who brings a wealth of experience in the promotion of evidence-based and user-centred practice in health and welfare services and in public policymaking.
SAVE THE DATE: Please join us for the next webinar in the Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development (CHILD) 'Evidence to Policy and Practice' series. The webinar will be held 27 April (Wednesday) between 6-7pm AEST (4- 5pm SGT). We will email further details as they become available.
Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore ran their first webinar for 2022. The webinar, co hosted by CEI, was titled Using Behavioural and Implementation Research in Healthcare – What Progress Have We Made? A recording of the webinar, and prior webinars in the series, are available here.
Expressions of interest are invited from researchers interested in participating in a pilot of a new online course designed to enable researchers to increase their impact in the fields of violence against women and violence against children. The pilot of the Pathways to Research Impact Course was funded by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and developed by CEI in partnership with the Africa Centre for Evidence. You can learn more here, or register directly here.
Managing Director Mary Abdo joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as the moderator for a panel discussion on research use in policy and practice in education.
UK & Europe Managing Director Jane Lewis was involved in the UK Evaluation Task Force training on Evaluation in Government, participating in a panel hosted by the Early Intervention Foundation on making evaluation work at the local level.
Senior Advisor Stephanie Smith spoke at the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Lunchtime Seminar Series held at Kings College in London. The event looked at non-academic career pathways for researchers.