An integrated approach to evidence for those working to improve outcomes for children and families

At Dartington Service Design Lab, we think about evidence as data or information – ideally from multiple sources – that is synthesised and critically appraised to inform better decision-making.

In this paper we describe an ‘integrated’ approach to the generation and use of evidence which combines elements from three different schools of thought: as a shorthand, we’ve called them the ‘What Works’, ‘Co-Production’ and ‘Complexity’. We are asking people reading this paper to think about their organisation and the role they could play in this new integrated approach.