Our new online evidence and evaluation toolkits, developed in partnership with the West of England Academic Health Science Network (WEAHSN) and the Avon Primary Care Research Collaborative (APCRC), launch today.
The toolkits – called ‘Evidence Works’ and ‘Evaluation Works’ – both feature a five-point guide to either finding and using evidence, or planning and implementing a service evaluation. The websites include some theory and rationale for evidence-informed commissioning. You will also find links and signposting to many resources and related training, case studies, top tips and advice as well as useful local contacts for support.
Both toolkits are intended for anyone working in or with health commissioning organisations to identify the best available evidence and use evaluation for informing a variety of decisions, including commissioning and service re-design.
An evidence-informed approach to health services is a key strand of the Five Year Forward View. This important NHS vision reminds us that “research is vital in providing the evidence we need to transform services and improve outcomes”, and of the NHS England programme “commissioning through evaluation”, which examines real world clinical evidence in the absence of full trial data. These new web-based toolkits will enable you to align with this strategic agenda.
Once you have had a look at the toolkits, please let us know what you think; your comments can be submitted via the feedback form on the ‘Contacts’ page.
CLAHRC West has worked in close partnership with APCRC and WEAHSN in the development and redesign of the toolkits, and complementary training workshops.
The concept originated from the innovative toolkits developed by APCRC and were produced with the support of many people from academic, health and science organisations across the west.
Evidence and evaluation workshops
Free workshops are available to complement the toolkits, called: ‘Finding the Evidence’ and ‘Getting Started with Service Evaluation’. These two workshops, each just two hours, can be run on your premises, at a time to suit you. They are a time-efficient way to improve or refresh your knowledge with important skills that can be applied to any service improvement or review. In the current climate of ever-increasing demand for NHS services, being able to reference evidence for decision-making can instil confidence that limited resources are used wisely – for the best patient outcomes and the greatest value for money.
Both workshops are available free of charge to all member organisations of CLAHRC West, APCRC and WEAHSN. If you’re interested in attending, complete this form.