The Evaluation and Trial Advice Panel

Overview of the Panel

Comprising over 50 experts, the Panel provides advice and support on all kinds of evaluation methods and approaches to help civil servants design and implement effective evaluations that will help us understand whether programmes and policies are really delivering for the British public.

Since 2014, the panel has advised on over 160 projects across government departments and public bodies. The Panel has supported a range of policy areas, including housing, reoffending, energy infrastructure and employment.  Panel members have a broad range of expertise, covering a mixture of evaluation methodologies and policy-specific areas.

Examples of the Panel’s work

The Panel helped the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) design their first-ever randomised controlled trial showing that providing English language classes to women in segregated communities made these women more likely to use local amenities and develop friendships with people from different backgrounds. The trial fed into the government’s 2018 integrated communities strategy green paper and a new £6 million Integrated Communities English Language Programme in 2019/20.

Nick Boase, Social Research Team, Agri-Food Chain Directorate, Defra

Engagement with the panel has been immensely helpful for our work at Defra on trials to encourage healthy sustainable diets. The panel’s wide-ranging expertise, wealth of experience and constructive challenge helped refine our programme of work. The impact of this advice is that our research programme is more robust, and better equipped to deliver high-quality actionable evidence which can inform future policy across government. We’ve been well supported from initial contact with the panel, through to the meeting and follow-up afterwards with panel members. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this group to others seeking advice on trials.

Being part of the Panel

Read below for our panellists’ reflections on their time on the Evaluation and Trial Advice Panel.

Professor Claudia Cooper, Professor of Psychiatry of Older Age, University College London

Applying my experience of research to such a diverse range of projects has been enjoyable and stimulating. It has been fascinating to meet people working to improve lives in so many varied governmental settings, and to share different perspectives on challenges

Peter John, Professor of Public Policy, King’s College London

I sense real enthusiasm for the Evaluation and Trial Advice Panel in our meetings, as well as an appreciation of our contribution. I enjoy encountering the variety of evaluations across many government departments and agencies, and the fascinating challenges. [The panel] adds value by suggesting modifications to the design, by using more robust methods, while not undermining the great plans already in place.

Professor Richard Lilford, Director of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Applied Research Centre West Midlands (ARCWM)

Working on this advisory committee is one of the highlights of my working life and I always try to make space for meetings in my busy calendar. The methodological challenges that diverse policy topics throw up are fascinating and informative. I feel privileged to sit at such a ‘high table’.

Do you want to sit on the Evaluation and Trial Advice Panel? Apply here! Applications are open until 24th1st NovemberDecember 2022.

More information

Contact us at trialadvicepanel@cabinetoffice.gov.uk for advice and support.

Related content

• Evaluation Task Force