Tight public finances are going to be with us for a while. It has never been more important, therefore, to make good decisions on public spending, taxation and regulation. It’s critical that scarce public funds are invested, taxes levied and regulations imposed in ways that promote sustainable growth, address inequalities and disadvantage, and offer good value for money.
This requires robust appraisal of policy decisions, close monitoring of their implementation and systematic evaluation of their effectiveness. SQW has long been involved in these matters for a wide range of public sector clients and across a diversity of policy domains. As well as carrying out appraisals and evaluations of specific interventions, we have also reviewed the evidence on the effects of public expenditure programmes and regulation and developed impact assessment frameworks, methods and guidance.
Our early work was in the fields of higher education, science and technology and regional and local economic development. We have broadened the scope of our capabilities and client base considerably over the last ten years both within SQW and through our sister companies in the SQW Group. Our appraisal and evaluation work now covers environment and sustainable development, skills and employment, children and young people, social inclusion, regeneration and neighbourhood renewal. The spread of our policy coverage makes us aware of theoretical and practical developments in appraisal and evaluation and enables us to transfer best practice across different policy domains.
Examples of SQW projects
Editing and Developing the Government’s Magenta Book
HM Treasury (through the Government Social Research Unit) commissioned SQW to edit and develop the Magenta Book – the single and authoritative resource of the UK government which sets out the why, when and how of evaluation. The objective is to improve consistency (both within the Book and with HM Treasury’s Green Book) and to increase its influence and utility for a broader range of government analysts and policy makers.
National Evaluation of Local Area Agreements and Local Strategic Partnerships
SQW is part of the national consortium undertaking the longitudinal three-year evaluation of Local Area Agreements and Local Strategic Partnerships on behalf of Communities and Local Government. The evaluation covers ten specific research areas including surveys, case-studies and action learning sets. It includes consultations with senior partners from across LSPs including the public, private and voluntary sectors, and reviewing the LAA development process and comparing experiences between LAA rounds.
Economic Assessment Model to Support Capital Investment Appraisals
SQW and Cambridge Econometrics were commissioned by One NorthEast to develop an economic impact assessment model to assist the agency in its appraisals of a wide range of capital investment projects. The model incorporated the conversion of gross to net outputs, using benchmarks from previous relevant evaluations where available, and provided indicative estimates of the net impacts on regional Gross Value Added.
National Evaluation of Cymorth and Flying Start
SQW led a consortium comprising Ipsos MORI, CRG Consulting and academic partners to undertake the largest evaluation commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government. It examined the implementation and impact of two programmes providing early interventions for children and young people in deprived communities. The methodology incorporated longitudinal surveys of intention to treat and control families, examining the outcomes of the programme on parental skills and confidence and child cognitive, social and language development. It also included process reviews, depth case studies, thematic inquiries and secondary data analysis to evaluate programme delivery processes and impact.
Economic impact of marine energy development
Aquamarine commissioned an economic impact assessment for a marine energy technology developer of the installation of their device in the Pentland Firth. The economic impact assessment contributed towards the client’s application for a lease from The Crown Estate.
Socio-Economic Impacts of Cycling
SQW was commissioned by Cycling England to assess the socio-economic impact of cycling. Focusing on the areas of congestion, health and air quality, the study evaluated the impact of previous cycle initiatives and their influence on Public Service Agreements, estimated the potential impact of increasing investment in these areas, and made a judgement on the counterfactual. The study was subsequently submitted to the HM Treasury for consideration in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Development of the Framework to Assess the Impact of the English Regional Development Agencies
With PA Consulting, SQW developed what became known as the Impact Evaluation Framework under a commission from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (now BIS), working closely with the RDAs. The framework set out how evaluations should assess the net benefits of interventions and their contributions to regional objectives. The Framework advocated the use of logic chain thinking in understanding the conceptual way in which interventions were expected to have their desired effects.
Economic Appraisal of the Edinburgh Bioquarter Commercialisation Plan
SQW was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise to undertake an economic impact appraisal of the commercialisation plan proposed by the University of Edinburgh in support of the development of Edinburgh Bioquarter, a new medical research park development located adjacent to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and to University medical research facilities.
Synthesis of Evaluation Evidence on Business Support Interventions
An in-depth synthesis of evaluation evidence by SQW was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from a wide range of schemes from the last twenty years in order to: assess how scheme objectives have been met and contributed to departmental objectives; review the impacts of the schemes; and assess best practice with respect to evaluation methods.
2012 Games Legacy Impact Evaluation Study
SQW was appointed by the London Development Agency (LDA), as part of a consortium led by PricewaterhouseCoopers, to undertake Stages 1 and 2 of an impact evaluation of the LDA’s 2012 Games Legacy activities. The LDA’s investments to maximise the legacy impact of the Games have been varied and complex. So the approach had to ensure that the evaluation of these investments was consistent and robust across each of the five programmes: culture, sports participation, employment and skills, tourism and business, and land delivery. SQW is leading the evaluation work on the culture, employment and skills, and tourism and business programmes – which includes longitudinal surveys and econometric projections.
Impacts of Flooding on Market Towns in the West Midlands
Following extremely heavy rain in the summer of 2007, SQW was commissioned by Advantage West Midlands to assess the economic impacts arising from the associated flooding. This affected much of the south of the region – particularly Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire. We developed a model charting the main flood impacts and then populated this with data to establish the principal economic effects. In completing this assignment we liaised closely with the relevant local authorities and intermediary business organisations. Our findings were used by the agency to help frame its recovery response.