HOST Policy Research: Projects and Consultations
Recently Completed Projects
- Impact evaluation of the UK teaching and learning research programme
- Survey of current, past and present customers for AQA mathematics products and services
- Research into Investors in People
- Impact assessment of a training intervention in the care sector
Impact Evaluation of the UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme led by Dr David Parsons with Stefan Burkey, Alan Bloomfield and Dr Jane Holland
The UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) is a long standing and major initiative by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) aimed at supporting leading edge educational research and building applied education research capacities in UK universities. Funding of the eight-year programme has now drawn to a conclusion, and ESRC commissioned HOST Policy Research (HOST) to conduct an independent and summative evaluation of its impact both on policy and professional practice. Application, and achieving impact on both policy and practice, has been a central goal of ESRC funding of the programme and HOST was asked to look at:
- The extent to which the TLRP has had an impact upon policy and practice.
- The ways in which the TLRP has achieved impact through its dissemination, networking and knowledge transfer activities.
- The value added to policy and practice impact by Programme organisation and management.
The scope of the seven month evaluation was broadly based and the evaluation provided distinctive messages for TLRP impact in each home country of the UK, and internationally. It covered the full range of TLRP activity – with over 60 funded ‘national’ projects directly involving over 300 researchers, and nearly 50 additionally funded activities and individuals.
The HOST team collated evidence and experiences not just from the funded activities, but also from national stakeholders and co-funders such as the higher education funding agencies, and from project partners.
The evaluation used established HOST processes for systematic impact assessment. More specifically this involved a tracking forward approach, combining making best use of the available documentary evidence together with highly focused primary research to minimise disturbance to the sector. It was conducted from September 2010 to February 2011. It focused on:
- Secondary analysis of programme MI and reporting, interviews with programme direction staff, and an external stakeholder review among key agencies.
- Conduct of a ‘front-line’ impact review through an e-survey to project leads (principal investigators) and also a second stage survey focussed on partners and sector stakeholders engaged directly by universities in the funded activity.
- Identification and conduct of a series of in-depth project profiles to provide for better practice case studies of TLRP impact and its determinants.
- Collation and progressive reporting to ESRC.
The evaluation produced a final report in February 2011.
Survey of current, past and present customers for AQA mathematics products and services
AQA asked HOST Policy Research to conduct an in-depth survey of the views and perceptions of current, past, and potential, customers of AQA Mathematics products and services, utilising state of the art e-survey techniques. The research included investigating and analysing the experiences, professional development needs, and opinions of mathematics teachers, heads of department, headteachers, examiners, Initial Teacher Trainers/Educators, and other key stakeholders.
The research was conducted by a three person team at HOST, led by Stefan Burkey with Alan Bloomfield and Dorothy Berry-Lound. The final report was delivered in May 2011.
Research into Investors in People
HOST undertook a new project for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) aiming to identify the impact that the New Choices approach of Investors in People (IIP) has had on the perceptions and take up by employing organisations.
New Choices was introduced in 2008 and offers a more flexible, customer led approach but still centred on the core IIP Standard. However, the framework has been extended to allow employers the option of additional challenges according to their business needs and three additional stages are recognised with Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.
The research involved gathering information from a variety of perspectives and included discussions with key stakeholders including UKCES staff, Regional Delivery Centres and others, and a survey of employers with experience of the New Choices approach. A core part of the research was to conduct a series of employer case studies from across the United Kingdom to gather more in depth understanding of the initiative.
The study was led at HOST by Kenneth Walsh (Project Director) and Susan Lanz (Deputy Project Director), with Dorothy Berry-Lound and Simon Bysshe, with the final report delivered in July 2011.
An evaluation of the impact of a training intervention on behaviour towards carers and delivery of services to carers by workers (predominantly health and social care staff) who have undertaken the training. A project for Skills for Care working jointly with Skills for Health, led by Dorothy Berry-Lound, with Dr Jo Verrill, Stefan Burkey, Frances Chinemana, Dr Claire Harris and Susan Lanz.
The project delivered a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to provide a robust evaluation of the impact of the training programme. Activities took place on a rolling basis to reflect training activity on the ground and involved research with carers and staff.
A combination of self-complete surveys, depth interviews and focus groups were used to thoroughly evaluate the impact of training on staff. Baseline, completion of training and three months after completion of training were the trigger points for three staff surveys.
The final report has now been published and is available from the publications section of this website.
“I gained more knowledge about how best to gather information for research purposes and the limitations.”