Given the many demands that are made upon policy makers and public service providers from a multitude of sources and constituencies, and the finite resources that are available to meet these demands, it is important to know which policy or practice initiatives can make the greatest difference and yield the maximum benefit for the greatest number of people. Moreover it is important for policy makers and practitioners to know this ahead of time, before initiatives are embarked upon and rolled out nationally.
Decision makers need to know in real time whether or not initiatives are having the desired effect once they have been implemented and, if not, why not and what can be done to rectify matters. Effective policy making and public service delivery therefore require valid and reliable information about the likely and/or achieved impact of successful outcomes of policy initiatives.
The aim of this workshop is to help policy makers and public service practitioners know how to assess the impact of policy and practice initiatives before they are embarked upon and subsequently over the course of time. The programme will enable participants to understand the basic principles of impact assessment and the different ways of assessing policy and practice impacts.