Quality Assurance

Do quality assurance and evaluation matter?

What is the difference between ‘rolling out’ a new initiative and implementing one? There are many, but a likely one will be the degree of success.

For example, we know from a wealth of literature that policies and practice that reflect the principles of risk, needs and responsivity promote desistance from offending; reductions in reoffending rates of up to 40% have been achieved in initiatives that are implemented in rigorous conditions. However, we also know that it is challenging to achieve those results in the ‘real world’: numerous studies demonstrate that limited or counter-productive results occur unless attention is paid to implementation integrity.

Whether the initiative is a structured intervention such as a programme, or a new risk assessment instrument, attention paid to staff selection, engagement, training, supervision, organisational commitment and support, separate more successful from less successful initiatives.

This web section aims to provide support to practitioners, managers and trainers in order to support implementation quality in major initiatives and to assist in evaluation. 

This web section will be under continuous development; we encourage requests for initiatives that may be included in the future, and welcome suggestions and contributions of relevant research or guidance materials.