Making Evidence Work

Making Evidence Work is a community interest company and new venture for Steph Waddell and Ben Lewing, who led work to support evidence use in policy and practice for many years at the Early Intervention Foundation and then Foundations, the What Works Centre for Children and Families. Making Evidence Work’s mission is to empower local service leaders to harness the power of real-world evidence and provide support that works for families. This ‘real-world evidence’ includes child and family experience, professional experience, contextual insights from local data, and scientific research.

Making Evidence Work has identified three strategic priorities:

1. Enhance the skills, knowledge and confidence of local service leaders to collect, interpret and use diverse forms of evidence in their day-to-day work
2. Encourage a more nuanced national policy dialogue that reflects the value of diverse forms of evidence in family support
3. Bring insights from other sectors and academia to bear on the challenges of using evidence in family support, including through active membership of UPEN