Strengthening LEAP’s monitoring, evaluation and learning through a shared measurement approach
Strengthening LEAP’s monitoring, evaluation and learning through a shared measurement approach
Achieving social change by measuring and working towards shared outcomes
High quality evidence and evaluation was central to the Lambeth Early Action Partnership (LEAP) programme from its inception.
LEAP aimed to demonstrate the achievements of its individual services in improving early childhood development. It also set out to show how services can make an even greater difference for children and families by working together.
During its first few years, LEAP focused on developing and implementing a high-quality programme. Its focus then shifted to outcomes, impact and learning. To underpin this phase and strengthen the programme’s approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning, LEAP developed a Shared Measurement System (SMS). The SMS introduced a standardised set of evaluation tools to track progress towards shared outcomes.
LEAP developed a Shared Measurement System (SMS) to:
- Capture collective impact by identifying shared outcomes across services, and allowing data to be pooled and combined
- Quickly build a larger evidence base and improve routine monitoring through increased quantity and quality of data
- Increase efficiency and reduce the burden on practitioners through simplifying and standardising data collection wherever possible
- Help services work collectively with the local system to create change
LEAP’s SMS learning journey is complemented by a report on LEAP’s Data Integration Platform. The Platform processed data collected by the SMS, allowing individual-level data to be linked across the programme.
Authors
Rowan Ferguson, Senior Research and Evaluation Officer, National Children’s Bureau
Claire Dunne, Senior Research and Development Manager, National Children’s Bureau
Sophie Woodhead, Assistant Director, Lambeth Early Action Partnership
Background
Organisations working on similar issues, and towards similar goals, can benefit from an SMS. They reach an agreement on what outcomes will indicate success, and introduce shared systems to measure progress and achievement.
Shared measurement can vary. The more outcomes and activities that you have in common, the more you can standardise measurements. Most commonly, organisations have an overall shared purpose, but they work towards diverse outcomes to achieve it. They will have some shared measurement approaches, as well as the ability to flex measurement to best fit each organisation’s area of work. This was case for LEAP, a collective impact initiative whose many services and activities linked together and worked towards shared goals to improve outcomes for young children.
Shared measurement approaches are increasingly common across a range of sectors in the UK, such as health. There is some evidence that the children’s and early years sectors are also moving towards shared measurement approaches. Stakeholders are recognising the potentially transformative impact around improving holistic support and reducing siloed working.
This Learning Journey details how LEAP developed and implemented its SMS, and the learnings that followed.
Key learnings from developing LEAP’s Shared Measurement System:
- The SMS improved routine monitoring and enabled an in-depth understanding of collective impact.
- Developing a robust SMS takes time, commitment and investment. LEAP’s SMS took over two years of rigorous work to refresh programme theory, identify appropriate measurement tools and put a new data collection approach into practice.
- Implementation is just as important as development. For the SMS to be effective, it was crucial that LEAP could build capacity and change cultures around data collection and use.
- The SMS needed to consider practicality, ensuring that whatever was introduced didn’t place an undue burden on practitioners or families.
LEAP’s SMS has been recognised nationally as a particularly mature example of shared measurement. Two services who received ongoing funding from the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme have adopted LEAP’s SMS tools.
