Evaluation of Scottish transitional employment services: interim report August 2018

Appendix 3 – Approach to the evaluation

The approach undertaken for the phase 1 process evaluation comprised:

• A review of Monitoring Information to allow us to take an overview of the nature of WFS's and WAS's respective client groups; the types of assistance taken up by clients; and their destinations and outcomes by any observable differences in characteristics
• Partner interviews (8) with Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, Jobcentre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions
• Lead providers management interviews with 10 representatives of WFS and WAS providers
• Two f ocus groups with 21 Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches and Disability Employment advisers
• Provider frontline adviser focus groups (five groups involving 16 advisers) to review the delivery issues in WFS and WAS and their perspective on what works with different types of customer
• Telephone interviews with supply-chain providers (25) exploring their perspective on WFS and WAS delivery. We also interviewed three Statutory Referral Organisations ( SROs) on their perspectives on referral of potential customers.
• Focus groups and telephone interviews with SG WFS Performance Managers and SDS Skills Investment Advisers on compliance and quality control procedures and programme performance
• The first wave of a two-wave customer survey undertaken January to February 2018 comprising customers starting the programme April-October 2017. The telephone survey completed 700 interviews (499 WFS and 201 WAS customers).
• A range of health condition support networks were contacted to explore whether this may offer a route to engage with people with long-term health conditions about their attitudes to and barriers to employment, perceptions of the programme and any reasons for not participating. Initial discussions with 10 networks provided a mixed response especially to involving their members, but we were able to interview two Occupational Therapists on their views on non-participants' perspective on employment.
• Case study interviews with employers (17) focusing on their reasons for participating; perceptions of the programme and their expectations of potential clients' capacity and skills; job design, support and coping with problems (when things go wrong for the client) and future plans; will they recruit from this client group again in future and if not why not.