Evaluation

The VRU exists to reduce and prevent violence in West Yorkshire, increasing safety for residents of the region. As an organisation, the VRU continually looks to refine and develop our suite of activities. A critical component of this process of improvement is our programme of evaluation.

We carry out evaluation because we want to make sure that we are achieving our intended violence reduction outcomes. We also want to make sure that our money is being spent in the right areas and is having the best possible impact.

At the VRU, the key mechanism for reviewing how we achieve our goals is through a cycle of monitoring, review, assessment and analysis that we collectively term evaluation. Nevertheless, we consider evaluation to be any systematic process to judge merit, worth or significance by combining evidence and values.

We evaluate our violence reduction projects through a combination of in-house monitoring that utilises the expertise we have within the VRU, and commissioned external partners to offer us an independent, unbiased and holistic view of our progress.

Core projects

The public sector consultancy, Red Quadrant, was commissioned by the VRU to carry out an evaluation of five Core Programmes aimed at reducing violence in West Yorkshire.

The evaluation aimed to:

• Determine causal attribution of the VRU Core Programmes through establishing the impacts they are having in West Yorkshire.
• Identify whether programme impacts are positive or negative, whether the programmes are having the intended impacts or whether there are also unintended impacts arising from their implementation, as well as casting light on direct or indirect impacts.
• Establish the value for money of the VRU Core Programmes

The final evaluation report identified a number of key learnings arising from the delivery of the Core Programmes throughout 2021/22, as well as setting forth a range of recommendations. A link to the report can be found below.

VRU Core Funded Programmes Impact Evaluation (PDF 1.21MB)

A&E Navigator and Community Links programme

The A&E Navigator programme is one of the flagship initiatives of the VRU. Based within the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, A&E Navigators are a support service for people who find themselves in A&E due to violence. Navigators aim to provide consistent care, advice and support to people who have experienced violence and may be at risk of future violence. The services provided by the Navigators extend beyond the hospital walls with regular aftercare appointments when patients return to their communities. Navigators aim to link people with appropriate community support services with a view to assisting people to address the factors that may make them vulnerable to violence.

The social and economic consultancy, Wavehill, was commissioned by the VRU to carry out an evaluation of the A&E Navigator programme. The final evaluation report identified a number of key learnings arising from the delivery of the A&E Navigator programme throughout 2021/22, as well as setting forth a range of recommendations. A link to a summary of the report can be found below.

A&E Community Links Evaluation Summary (PDF 505KB)

Teachable Moments

The Teachable Moments Focussed Deterrence project was a new initiative of the VRU in 2021/22, arising from a successful bid for extra funding to support violence reduction activities in West Yorkshire.

The project deploys a ‘Focused Deterrence’ car carrying experienced Youth Workers working in tandem with a West Yorkshire Police non-uniformed officer at the ‘teachable moment’ following an incident, with a view to engaging with young people affected by and witnessing the incident.

The social and economic consultancy, Wavehill, was commissioned by the VRU to carry out an evaluation of the Teachable Moments project.

The final evaluation report identified a number of key learnings arising from the delivery of the Teachable Moments project throughout 2021/22, as well as setting forth a range of recommendations. A link to a summary of the report can be found below.

Teachable Moments Evaluation Summary (PDF 603KB)

Adversity, Trauma and Resilience programme

The Adversity, Trauma and Resilience (ATR) programme was developed in conjunction with the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health Care Partnership with the aims of increasing knowledge and partnership working across the public health and violence reduction sector.

The policy, research and grant management consultancy, Rocket Science, was commissioned by the VRU to carry out an evaluation of the ATR programme.

The final evaluation report identified a number of key learnings arising from the delivery of the ATR programme throughout 2021/22, as well as setting forth a range of recommendations. A link to the report can be found below.

Adversity, Trauma and Resilience Programme Evaluation (PDF 1.58MB)

Trauma Informed Education Settings Insight West Yorkshire

The aims of this study are two-fold: firstly, to evaluate the early outcomes of the pilot study known as, ‘The Innovation Project’, at Outwood Academy Hemsworth and secondly, to examine trauma informed programs in West Yorkshire schools and educational institutions that have committed to strengthening educational outcomes for vulnerable young people through attachment and trauma-informed methods. Furthermore, this research sets out to identify barriers and opportunities experienced in their implementation.

Report - Trauma Informed Education Settings Insight West Yorkshire (PDF 1.88MB)