Recommendation 6

The Department believes the impact of the Innovation Programme on the sector has been ‘transformational’. It describes the demand stimulated by the programme, having received over 200 applications for the first funding round of a programme where evaluation was a condition of funding.15 The Department also described issues caused by the limited capacity and expertise in the market to provide the evaluations the programme required, and the decision to set up a What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care in 2017 to take this agenda forward.16 The Department told us there is more of that capacity as a legacy of the Innovation Programme.17 What Works for Children’s Social Care also emphasised the work it now does through its Evidence Hubs, sharing research findings with front-line practitioners and aiming to ensure the importance of evidence is understood by senior leaders in the sector.18.