Partners: NWL ICB, Imperial College Healthcare Trust, Imperial College London, Brunel University, 3rd Sector Together NWL, NIHR ARC NWL
Enabler: Evaluation
Many interventions are implemented without robust, timely or proportionate evaluation.
Consequently, this means:
• Projects have no means to learn and improve
• Funders do not know the extent to which the intervention has had impact (or not)
• The system does not know which interventions to invest in at scale
• Most teams who are implementing change do not have specific evaluation expertise, and so need to seek this help from elsewhere. This can be time-consuming, costly, and usually does not happen.
To put impact at the heart of decision-making, and to ensure we can effectively scale what works, ICHP led the establishment of the NWL Evaluation Consortium – a cross-sector collaboration aiming to standardise the system’s approach to evaluation. Using our combined expertise in research, innovation and evaluation, we have worked together to develop a standardised, accessible approach to evaluation in NWL.
In 2024/25 the Consortium, with oversight and leadership from ICHP, developed a digital Evaluation Toolkit – a web platform that hosts NWL’s collaboratively designed approach to evaluation, practical tools, templates, guidance, and case studies grounded in real-world learning.
Over 115 professionals from across health, care, research, and academia joined a live webinar to launch the Toolkit. In its first three months, the Toolkit had over 3,000 views, with over 450 individual users visiting the site. We have convened a group of NWL evaluation experts to support operationalising this offer further and in 2025/26 will launch 1:1 Evaluation Surgeries – free, 60-minute expert-led sessions to support teams across NWL in planning or delivering their own evaluations.
ICHP will continue to be a core partner in the Consortium, opening membership to other health research and innovation organisations across our region, and hosting a Product Manager to lead the development of the online Toolkit to ensure it best serves system-wide decision-making.
“Exceptionally well organised, functional and meaningful webinar to showcase the toolkit.” –
Webinar delegate
“I’ve started using the toolkit and found it clear and easy to use and it has helped to structure my planning of my evaluation. Whilst I had covered most bases already it applied a discipline and model within which to present my plans which is helpful.”- Webinar delegate
