The 5 Step Approach to Evaluation: Designing and Evaluating Interventions to Reduce Reoffending

Introduction

This evaluation pack is aimed at both service providers and funders who aim to reduce crime and reoffending.

For funders and planning partnerships , it aims to:

• Offer a strategic, evidence-based and outcomes-focused planning tool.
• Offer guidance on how to assess evaluations from service providers and therefore direct funding to greatest effect.
• Demonstrate the role you can play in promoting and enabling high quality evaluations from those you fund.

For service providers, it aims to:

• Provide guidance on planning an evidence-based service with a "built in" evaluation process.
• Provide guidance and resources for you to effectively assess, understand and demonstrate how well your service is working in relation to your aims.
• Offer an alternative to randomised control trials, using a "logic model" approach to evaluation, which any service provider can use to evaluate any intervention, regardless of size.
• Encourage continual review and improvement of services.

Other audiences

The pack is primarily aimed at funders, commissioners and service providers with a focus on reducing the risk of crime and reoffending. However, it is likely to be relevant to others with an interest in effective evaluation (such as inspectorates and auditors) and the approach can easily be adapted for projects that do not primarily seek behaviour change.

Is your project evaluating other outcomes e.g. health, environmental or cultural?

For those of you who would like to see a more generic version of this pack, we have also published a version of this pack entitled 'The 5-step Approach to Evaluation: Designing and Evaluating Behaviour Change Interventions' which is relevant to evaluating any service.