Evaluation of Restart Pilot
Client: Seetec
Duration: 6 months
Funder: Seetec
Evaluation approach
The evaluation aims to generate actionable insights that can inform future programme design, targeting, and delivery. To understand how different types of support influence participant progression across key readiness domains, and to identify what works, for who and when.
The Social Research Unit team will utilise a mixed methods approach to meet all of Seetec’s requirements and ensure a comprehensive evaluation. The evaluation will track participants “distance travelled” across readiness domains over time, linked to a detailed intervention tracking (what, when, how, and intensity as collected by Seetec) and then analyse patterns at cohort and subgroup level. Qualitative insight gathered through interviews and focus groups with participants and advisors will explain the ‘why’ behind the numbers.
Overview
The Restart is a government-funded twelve-month employment support programme for people who have been out of work and claiming Universal Credit or Jobseekers Allowance for an extended period of time. Its purpose is to remove barriers to work, improve employability and help participants secure sustainable jobs.
Seetec are seeking to trial distance travelled assessments in advance of a new programme being rolled out by the Department of Work and Pensions capturing before, during and after to build a clear, practice focused understanding of how different types of support within the programme influence participant progression across key domains. The emphasis is on learning from delivery, not trying to produce a formal impact assessment of attributing causality.