Impact measurement

There was a large variance observed in how impact was being measured and reported, evident in both the wider literature review and individual case studies. This diversity reflects varying resource, skills and focus associated with the models and interventions being evaluated. 

• Most places can see and feel the difference they're making. They may have done an evaluation but the decision to engage in and continue to support joint neighbourhood working did not rest solely on formal evidence.
• Depending on the starting point, the impacts participants are interested in can vary significantly. A PCN-led model may have a principal goal of expanding the ability of the practices to meet patient needs, whereas a community group may focus on building social capital and community connectedness.
• Some interventions have been able to establish a link to reduction in demand for primary care and / or acute services in formal evaluative terms, but this level of evaluation is not available to most community-led schemes, which do not have access to the resources or data to undertake such detailed evaluation work.
• More statutory-led examples tend to have more quantitative metrics that are established at the outset of projects, often driven by requirements of local commissioners and the presence of teams and resources within partner organisations for monitoring and evaluation. However, while quantitative data can be a compelling driver of progress and future funding, the qualitative data being captured by local communities themselves can give as good, if not better, picture of the actual impact of the work on individuals within the neighbourhoods being supported.

Some neighbourhoods had partnered with, or planned to partner with, local academic institutions to support the evaluation of outcomes. This is a potentially powerful way of building evidence and learning locally and nationally, presenting benefits to both the evaluator and those being evaluated, as well as supporting the sharing of best practice outside of local areas.