Research Unit to be a London “eye”

The Social Research Unit is to play a key role in helping decision makers and service providers in the Greater London Authority (GLA) to judge the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention programmes.

Project Oracle will set an evaluation standard that will rank interventions and programs according to the quality of the method used to evaluate them, their impact on child well-being and their attention to implementation issues.

The project will extend our interest in disseminating effective social interventions into the preparation of an assessment framework for scoring programs and giving service providers guidance on how to improve their ranking.

Consultation with experts in the field of prevention science throughout the development period will culminate in a conference to be held in spring 2010.

For more information about the project, see the GLA project page or contact Vashti Berry on 01803 762400.

•The GLA is the vehicle for strategic city-wide government for London. It is made up of a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected London Assembly, which scrutinises the Mayor's activities and questions him about his decisions. The Assembly is also able to investigate other issues of importance to Londoners, publish its findings and recommendations, and make proposals to the Mayor. Main areas of responsibility include transport, policing, economic development, planning, culture, environment and health.