Today we publish our new report, Evaluating Fulfilling Lives: Learning from a programme evaluation, summarising key learning from conducting national and local evaluations of the Fulfilling Lives programme.

Fulfilling Lives was a hugely complex programme operating in, and aiming to influence, complex systems. The programme therefore required similarly complex and unique approaches to evaluation. We and the local evaluation teams learned much over the eight years Fulfilling Lives spanned. This report details where and how the evaluation succeeded and where we didn’t get it right, so that others may learn from both.

Guided by our own insight, and that of The National Lottery Community Fund and the funded partnerships, we have reflected on some of the key approaches and learning from evaluating a large, multi-site, complex […]

We are very excited to share that learning from the Fulfilling Lives evaluation locally and nationally has recently been published in a special issue of an academic journal.

Housing, Care and Support – a journal on policy, research and practice, published by Emerald Insight – is hosting a double-issue special edition based around Fulfilling Lives. Supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage: evidence from the Fulfilling Lives programme is Volume 25, Issue 3-4 of the long-running journal and includes articles from the national evaluation as well as eight of the local partnerships. Jo Welford and Rachel Moreton from CFE, along with Kate Green from the National Lottery Community Fund and Beth Collinson, previous Learning Associate based at the University of Sheffield, were guest editors of the special […]

Today we publish our new summative report, celebrating the achievements of the Fulfilling Lives programme and exploring key evaluation findings, learning and resources.

Drawing on a plethora of local and national evaluation reports, updated data analysis and advice from stakeholders across the programme, this report summarises what we have learned and what Fulfilling Lives has achieved. It is also a signpost to various resources offering insight to specific areas of the programme in greater depth.

As the Fulfilling Lives programme ends, it is important to capture what worked, what didn’t and why.

Fulfilling Lives has shown that it is possible to engage and support those with the most complex and entrenched needs. Partnerships demonstrated the benefits of a holistic and strengths-based approach to supporting people. Attitudes towards multiple […]

Our latest publication, Creating systems change: Evaluating the contribution of the Fulfilling Lives programme, is released today. The report outlines key systems changes in Fulfilling Lives areas over the eight-year programme, and explores the mechanisms that facilitated change.

Systems change has been at the heart of Fulfilling Lives. When the programme started, local systems were described as inefficient, fragmented and inconsistent. There has since been real change.

• Services now have greater means for collaboration and cross-sector working has improved, with workforces better equipped to support those affected by multiple disadvantage.
• Attitudes towards, and understanding of, multiple disadvantage have improved – it is now on the national political agenda, with evidence from Fulfilling Lives contributing towards the design and delivery of the Changing Futures programme.
• Lived […]
  

We are pleased to announce the confirmed agenda for the forthcoming final conference of the Fulfilling Lives programme. Entitled “Seeing the full picture” the conference on 16^th June will celebrate the achievements of the past eight years and share learning from across programme partners. In addition to hearing from the evaluation team, we are pleased to welcome the following keynote speakers:

• Dominic Williamson is a consultant working with charities and local authorities to improve policy, services and systems for people facing multiple disadvantage. He has over thirty years’ experience working to tackle homelessness, substance use, trauma and reoffending.
• David Knott was appointed CEO of The National Lottery Community Fund in October 2021. David has had a varied public service career, most recently as Director […]
  

Our latest publication, Coproduction: Principles into Practice, is released today. Drawing on experience of the Fulfilling Lives programme, the report provides practical guidance and learning on how on how to do coproduction well. It explores the ways in which partnerships have worked towards embedding coproduction in the daily practices of organisations in their local area, contributing towards systemic change.

For coproduction to be effective, participants must be offered equality of access and power imbalances be broken down. This involves frank discussions about the challenges and honest reflections on where improvements need to be made. People with lived experience of multiple disadvantage need to be given the time, space and resource to contribute. They need to be supported and recognised on a level playing field, as […]

Our latest publication, Learning from the Crisis: Reflections two years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is released today. The report is a follow-up to our initial rapid assessment of the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic that was published in July 2020.

The COVID-19 crisis led to some major changes in the way services and support were provided to people experiencing multiple disadvantage. The immediate and ongoing response to the global crisis demonstrated that different ways of working could be put in place to ensure a quicker, more flexible response to the needs of this group.

The report draws on evidence and experiences from the Fulfilling Lives programme. It explores changes in different services supporting those experiencing multiple disadvantage and […]

Our latest publication, Closing down beneficiary support projects, draws together the experiences and perspectives of staff in various roles at four Fulfilling Lives partnerships whose direct work supporting beneficiaries has come to an end. Fulfilling Lives was always a time-limited programme, providing funding to test new approaches with the aim of informing lasting systems change. The report offers practical tips and recommendations from partnerships to aid the smooth closure of similar time-limited support.

The report highlights that starting planning and preparation for closing projects early is key. A joint strategy involving all partners helps ensure everyone is clear about their role in the process. Ongoing flexibility and adaptation is required, and close monitoring of caseloads is important to balance demand with available resource.

External preparation and systems change […]

In line with government guidance, the evaluation team are now working remotely and all planned face-to-face activities have been moved online for the foreseeable future. Our thoughts at this time are with our colleagues who are working hard to keep the most vulnerable in society safe. We will continue as best we can our work to develop the evidence base for longer term improvements in support for people affected by multiple disadvantage.

Following conversations with partnerships over the previous weeks, we are hearing about new creative ways of working developed by staff across Fulfilling Lives in response to the current pandemic. Those experiencing multiple disadvantage are at a heightened risk during this time and staff are continuing their work to ensure these individuals still get the […]

The 2020 budget announcement makes a commitment to provide £46 million from the Shared Outcomes Fund programme to support individuals experiencing multiple disadvantage such as homelessness, substance misuse and reoffending. At Fulfilling Lives, this comes as great news, as the national evidence for the programme highlights the need for those experiencing multiple disadvantages to be supported and for these disadvantages to be looked at holistically. Fulfilling Lives contributed learning from the national evaluation to the proposal to Her Majesty’s Treasury and the programme has been used as a source of supporting evidence as to why this investment should be made.

Fulfilling Lives, MEAM and Lankelly Chase were invited by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to contribute to the business case, with comments being […]

The latest publication from the Fulfilling Lives evaluation summarises key findings to date. It draws together the main messages from the series of briefings we published throughout 2019 that reported data and insights from our evaluation.

The leaflet can be read here.

Since 2014, Fulfilling Lives projects in 12 areas across England have supported over 3,400 people affected by multiple disadvantage, including mental ill-health, substance misuse and homelessness. Key features of the programme that we know make a difference to beneficiaries include persistent and ongoing support, free of short-term time limits; small case-loads for workers, allowing the time to build personal relationships based on trust; and providing holistic support with a focus on beneficiaries’ priorities.

The summary leaflets covers:

• Why we need to invest in multiple […]