Previous News: Supporting evidence for local delivery

The project will provide research support to neighbourhood renewal partnerships in the region to bring together relevant information on crime, housing and other indicators of need, to promote the knowledge of key sources of information among regeneration professionals, and to disseminate good practice in research and evaluation for social inclusion. The project will also provide an advisory role and limited bespoke analytical support to those looking for evidence to support and evaluate their activity.

Using evidence more effectively will help:

• Projects and strategies suit their local conditions more effectively
• Projects and strategies take account of different issues that need addressing
• Evaluate which projects and strategies work well, and how they do this
• Show how good ideas and best practice in research and evaluation can be adopted more widely

Creating Excellence and South West Observatory will be recruiting one full time and one part time post to take on this activity. The project will also deliver five case studies and five training events to promote the use of evidence in neighbourhood renewal.

The first training events are pencilled in for the end of May. These will launch the service and be used to find out what particular priorities will be most useful to practitioners. Some suggestions already received about what the training events across the region could cover include using evidence for:

• Understanding rural deprivation
• Assessing the effectiveness of regeneration projects on older people
• Crime, liveability and the quality of neighbourhood environments
• Education projects and engaging members of ethnic minorities

For more information on the project, please contact us on 0800 328 3234 (freephone) or seld@swo.org.uk

Supporting Evidence for Local Delivery is being funded for the year 2005-06 by the Research and Development Division and Skills and Knowledge Team in the ODPM's Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.

The project will be able to benefit regeneration across the whole South West, but it is particularly aimed at the following areas:

• NRF Local Strategic Partnerships
• New Deal For Communities
• Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders
• Neighbourhood Wardens and Street Warden Schemes

For more information on the work of the South West Observatory please see information on the evidence page of our web site.