CEI’s mission is to ensure the best evidence is implemented in policy and practice to improve the lives of vulnerable people. To this end, our July newsletter gives a snapshot of five key projects where we have had impact in the first half of 2021.
We are excited to contribute to this important sector and have recently shared perspectives in numerous forums. There are also opportunities to join our team if you too are inspired by creating impact using the best evidence. Read on for further details.
Enhancing scalability of UNICEF’s early childhood programs
Scaling-up is recognised as one of the most challenging aspects of effective implementation. Drawing on a team across the UK, Singapore and Australia, CEI carried out an evaluation of UNICEF Serbia’s strategies for program scale-up and an assessment of the scalability of five early childhood programs. The team found that both the programs and UNICEF's work to develop and test them are well regarded, but that significant friction points with current services and community cultures indicate that aligning the programs with policy and service contexts is essential. CEI presented the findings to regional UNICEF leaders who have fully adopted the recommendations.
Leveraging implementation science to accelerate mental health system reform
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has outlined an ambitious reform agenda to better meet the needs of individuals, families, carers and workers. CEI is partnering with Mental Health Reform Victoria to harness implementation science to fast-track transformation of the mental health system.
Driving insights on approaches to address youth homelessness
CEI recently completed a multi-year evaluation of the Premier’s Youth Initiative (PYI) at the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice. This novel program is designed to reduce homelessness among care leavers. Using a hybrid implementation-effectiveness design, CEI and partners found that PYI shows promise as an intervention with some populations.
Identifying research gaps in child institutional maltreatment
CEI and partners developed an evidence and gap map (EGM) on child institutional maltreatment. The first of its kind in this important area for policy and practice, this EGM focuses donor, policymaker and researcher attention on a key challenge: much more research is needed and evidence on addressing institutional child maltreatment is limited, particularly in the highest-need settings and geographies.
Bringing confidence to roll-out of key interventions in early childhood
CEI’s recent feasibility evaluation of the Early Years Transformation Academy (EYTA), an Early Intervention Foundation intervention, found that it offered a positive learning experience for the local teams, was appropriate and acceptable to local areas overall, and could be confidently delivered as intended.
Keen to drive sector impact? Join our team!
CEI is growing! We have multiple roles open across geographies:
- Singapore Office is looking for a Research Assistant/Project Coordinator (closing Friday July 9)
- Sydney Office is seeking a Senior Advisor - Impact Evaluation
Events and insights
The Evidence and Implementation Summit 2021 may be over, but you can still listen to #EIS2021 thought leaders.
It is still possible to access to EIS2021 Summit content, available online at the Summit Portal until March 2022. If you didn’t register for EIS and therefore don’t have a Portal login, please email Event Manager Nikki Abercrombie for access rates and conditions.
You can also listen to podcasts recorded by the Mental Elf with three of the Summit keynotes:
- Dr Rinad Beidas, Director of the Penn Implementation Science Center on Harnessing implementation science to realize the promise of evidence-based practice in mental health care
- Dr Ruth Levine, CEO of IDinsight, on The Promises and Pitfalls of Co Creation
- Dr Jenny Donovan, CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), on Evidence for Change
CEI staff have been busy presenting ideas and engaging with the sector:
Executive Director Dr Robyn Mildon shared the latest developments in the methods and application of Implementation Science in practice (including types of measures and designs needed to reliably generate the kind of high-quality implementation research that pushes the field forward) as part of a series of webinars for the Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative (GESI).
Robyn also delivered the keynote at the Mental Health Victoria Symposium Preparing for reform: Co-production, culture change and leadership, addressing collaboration and leadership with key influencers brought together to discuss the implementation of the changes needed to progress mental health reform in Victoria.
Managing Director Mary Abdo delivered the keynote at a World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Community Awards Webinar on "Measuring Impact: Finding Innovative ways to assess programmatic evidence.”
Singapore Director Dr Cheryl Seah ran an online workshop in partnership with Singapore based NFP Alive Network on building strong relationships between siblings with different abilities.
UK & Europe Director Jane Lewis and CEI Associate Dr Bianca Albers shared what it’s like to work in an intermediary organisation in a webinar with Essential Implementation.