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 […]