When we evaluate policies and measure data it’s not unusual to find a gap between our expectations and what actually happened. The eminent British economist John Maynard Keynes is sometimes credited with saying “when the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?” Reality is notoriously stubborn and so, as Keynes noted, it might be better to change our minds. Evaluation is at the heart of effective policy making, and good data make good policies.
Get the Data has helped policy makers and practitioners in the fields of criminal justice, public health, and homelessness, for over 10 years. Our data-driven analyses generate real world solutions that have reduced reoffending, opened up access to healthcare, and informed better services for those without homes.
Get the Data’s work builds on, and contributes to, proven approaches to provision in these areas. But we don’t just rely on our knowledge of what has worked, we help our clients to find new approaches to the challenges our societies face. Our services are built around helping our clients to adapt when the facts change. This approach is built into all our services.
In 10 years of providing specialized evaluations we have never found a project that is fundamentally flawed in its theory or implementation. But we know that our clients are keen to learn how and why their projects are working. Get the Data’s services allow our clients to continually adapt their services to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Our Measure service is designed so that evaluation of a new service has a strong theoretical basis, but is grounded in the current facts and the local context. We start with understanding the project’s theory of change – how and why a project should bring about its desired outcomes. We ensure that a new project is grounded in existing knowledge of “what works” and that there are adequate resources for its successful implementation. When completing the work we recommend adaptions that the client might take to increase the likelihood of good outcomes.
Get the Data’s Prove service deploys our cutting edge impact evaluations to provide definitive evidence on whether or not a project has delivered its outcomes. Using longitudinal or quasi-experimental approaches we identify where and why a project has been successful or not. Our evaluation concludes with detailed recommendations on how a project should be sustained or replicated.
We know that facts constantly change and our Learn package informs our clients of the impact of ongoing projects, allowing them to improve services as they are being delivered. Using cutting edge predictive analyses we take current and historical data and make informed predictions about future outcomes. This allows our clients to shape ongoing projects and adapt the way they deliver services to particular groups of service users.
Our clients change their minds because of the facts that we generate. What would YOU do?