Evaluation and learning is a key part of our business name, and what we do. We Measure, Evaluate, and Learn using innovative and creative approaches to gather insights and evidence to help shape better services and funding. Our vision is to make a positive difference to organisations, communities, and wider society.
We work in partnership and believe in the importance of doing research with, not to.
We believe in the importance of open communication, working in partnership with our clients, commissioners, delivery staff and communities to design and deliver useful, proportionate and insightful learning and evaluation approaches.
“We have been so impressed with your collaborative, supportive and creative approach…you’ve absolutely exceeded our expectations in terms of how you’ve delivered – you’ve regularly gone over and above to support the project and to adapt and develop as we go, and we want Sophi and the team to know how much we have appreciated their support.”
Deputy Director, CPSL Mind
Acting as a critical friend and learning partner, we ensure that our evaluations are never designed in isolation: collaboration is factored into the whole process.
We’re experienced using a range of approaches and frameworks to help organisations to learn, adapt, reflect and evidence their impact.
We adopt various evaluation frameworks, approaches and tools, ensuring our designs are appropriate, and considerate of both the commissioner, delivery staff and community needs. We have experience in a range of approaches, such as:
Formative evaluation (assessing the process of the programme), and outcome evaluation (drawing out the impact) to help organisations understand: what is being delivered, what is working well, what could be improved, and what is changing as a result.
Realist evaluations using a range of methods to help funders understand ‘what works, for whom, in what circumstances and in what respects’.
Empowerment evaluation practice which supports ongoing learning, as well as upskilling in evaluative thinking and practice
Developmental evaluation approaches which supports organisations to be innovative, and to adapt to change and emerging realities.
Value for money – for instance, including approaches such as SROI, contingent valuation or willingness to pay studies
Co-design approaches which create partnerships to co-design the evaluation approach, tools as well as work collaboratively to consider learnings and insight (such as ripple effect mapping workshops, reflect and learn workshops, story-telling, and outcome mapping)
Innovative engagement approaches (such as online communities, longitudinal impact case studies, interactive play, visual and story-telling engagement with young people, children, and people with additional needs)
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M·E·L Research delivered Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) training for Winning Scotland, supporting the rollout of the Planet Youth prevention model across six local authority areas in Scotland. REM focuses on discovering and understanding the impacts or effects of a programme, project or intervention using multiple stakeholders. REM adopts a strengths-based approach and looks at how certain actions or efforts play a role in causing the observed changes. The idea is to identify changes or effects and how an intervention caused them – this approach helps to visually map out the outcomes and impacts of a…
M·E·L Research was commissioned by the Royal British Legion (RBL) to co‑design and deliver a pilot Lived Experience Panel. The pilot aimed to test whether a structured panel of people with lived experience of the Armed Forces community could meaningfully inform RBL’s campaigns, policy and research work. The model was delivered over a short, intensive period to “test and learn” during live organisational strategy projects. The pilot explored feasibility, impact, support needs, and the potential for scaling or embedding the approach. M·E·L Research supported recruitment, developed and delivered all training, and provided…
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and servicewomen, both Serving personnel and veterans. The Invictus Games acts as a crucial part of recovery journeys for many from the Armed Forces community and aims to positively focus on what they can achieve post injury or illness, celebrating their fighting spirit, though an inclusive sporting competition that recognises the sacrifice they have made. The Duke of Sussex was inspired to create the Invictus Games after visiting the Warrior Games in…
The evidence presented in our report highlights the significant role that the Housing Enablement Team (HET) plays in supporting timely hospital discharges and preventing delayed transfers of care. Over the last decade, the service has grown substantially, now working with more than 2,000 patients per year, many of whom face complex housing and social challenges that would otherwise prevent a safe and timely discharge.
Analysis of the available data demonstrates that the HET provides a rapid, effective response.
The Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) was a three-year partnership between Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE), and three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) – NHS Birmingham and Solihull, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, and NHS South Yorkshire. Its vision was that all children should enjoy good health and positive wellbeing, reduce child health inequalities and improve the outcomes for CYP from underserved communities by acting on the social determinants of health.
City of Doncaster Council commissioned M·E·L Research to evaluate an alternative provision service for children and young people who were struggling to engage in mainstream education. The alternative provision comprised of two settings (Big Picture Doncaster and Vega College) and was based on the Big Picture Learning philosophy that originated in the US. It is a model of learning that focuses on one student at a time, with small class sizes and a curriculum taught in a way that is centred on the passions and interests of children and young people6. Based on evidence of impact in the US, the Council believed it had the potential to re-engage young people in learning, and ultimately improve their long-term life chances and outcomes.
M·E·L Research was commissioned by the Wales Cancer Network to help assess the outcomes and impact of the all-Wales Rapid Diagnosis Clinics (RDC) programme.
The RDC programme was a national initiative supporting Health Boards in Wales to provide General Practitioners (GPs) with a referral pathway and RDC to investigate vague symptoms that may be caused by cancer. RDCs aimed to:
• Support earlier diagnosis for patients with vague, non-specific symptoms that could be cancer
• Reduce cancer diagnoses via emergency presentations
• Improve overall patient health outcomes by detecting cancer earlier
• Improve patient and GP experience
• Identify and manage other serious non-malignant disease or those at risk of developing serious illness
• Provide reassurance and early discharge for those patients with no, or non-serious disease, thus increasing capacity through appropriate and efficient use of finite services
In March 2023, the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB commissioned M·E·L Research to undertake a process and outcome evaluation to explore and demonstrate how the personalised care approaches in the elective care, pre-op MSK pathway at SFH and the cancer prehab pathway at NUH were being delivered. In order to assist future decision-making and commissioning, understanding the challenges, learnings and impact was key. The evaluation also needed to explore the different approaches adopted by the Link Worker providers, namely PICS and Self Help UK.
We focus on building relationships and listening. This is helped by the diversity of our research team. We are able to engage in different languages and come with lived experience which connects us to varied communities.
We see the value of incorporating lived experiences into our evaluations, and we are well versed in using a range of co-production and participatory approaches. This includes training and supporting peer researchers, setting up and working with lived experience panels, and community groups.
We are inclusive and embed EDI into our approach
We’ve built a team of EDI informed researchers who are experienced designing and a range of engaging approaches to ensure our practice is inclusive, accessible, and trauma informed.
We are flexible and considerate of participant need, ensuring our approach is accessible, including ensuring our research locations are accessible, or that the remote tools, consent forms and participant information we use are easy to use and understand. We have experience working with language and BSL translators, as well as ensuring our research communications and outputs are easy to read, and e-text accessible.
M·E·L Research delivered Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) training for Winning Scotland, supporting the rollout of the Planet Youth prevention model across six local authority areas in Scotland. REM focuses on discovering and understanding the impacts or effects of a programme, project or intervention using multiple stakeholders. REM adopts a strengths-based approach and looks at how certain actions or efforts play a role in causing the observed changes. The idea is to identify changes or effects and how an intervention caused them – this approach helps to visually map out the outcomes and impacts of a…
M·E·L Research was commissioned by the Royal British Legion (RBL) to co‑design and deliver a pilot Lived Experience Panel. The pilot aimed to test whether a structured panel of people with lived experience of the Armed Forces community could meaningfully inform RBL’s campaigns, policy and research work. The model was delivered over a short, intensive period to “test and learn” during live organisational strategy projects. The pilot explored feasibility, impact, support needs, and the potential for scaling or embedding the approach. M·E·L Research supported recruitment, developed and delivered all training, and provided…
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and servicewomen, both Serving personnel and veterans. The Invictus Games acts as a crucial part of recovery journeys for many from the Armed Forces community and aims to positively focus on what they can achieve post injury or illness, celebrating their fighting spirit, though an inclusive sporting competition that recognises the sacrifice they have made. The Duke of Sussex was inspired to create the Invictus Games after visiting the Warrior Games in…
The evidence presented in our report highlights the significant role that the Housing Enablement Team (HET) plays in supporting timely hospital discharges and preventing delayed transfers of care. Over the last decade, the service has grown substantially, now working with more than 2,000 patients per year, many of whom face complex housing and social challenges that would otherwise prevent a safe and timely discharge.
Analysis of the available data demonstrates that the HET provides a rapid, effective response.
The Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) was a three-year partnership between Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE), and three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) – NHS Birmingham and Solihull, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, and NHS South Yorkshire. Its vision was that all children should enjoy good health and positive wellbeing, reduce child health inequalities and improve the outcomes for CYP from underserved communities by acting on the social determinants of health.
City of Doncaster Council commissioned M·E·L Research to evaluate an alternative provision service for children and young people who were struggling to engage in mainstream education. The alternative provision comprised of two settings (Big Picture Doncaster and Vega College) and was based on the Big Picture Learning philosophy that originated in the US. It is a model of learning that focuses on one student at a time, with small class sizes and a curriculum taught in a way that is centred on the passions and interests of children and young people6. Based on evidence of impact in the US, the Council believed it had the potential to re-engage young people in learning, and ultimately improve their long-term life chances and outcomes.
M·E·L Research was commissioned by the Wales Cancer Network to help assess the outcomes and impact of the all-Wales Rapid Diagnosis Clinics (RDC) programme.
The RDC programme was a national initiative supporting Health Boards in Wales to provide General Practitioners (GPs) with a referral pathway and RDC to investigate vague symptoms that may be caused by cancer. RDCs aimed to:
• Support earlier diagnosis for patients with vague, non-specific symptoms that could be cancer
• Reduce cancer diagnoses via emergency presentations
• Improve overall patient health outcomes by detecting cancer earlier
• Improve patient and GP experience
• Identify and manage other serious non-malignant disease or those at risk of developing serious illness
• Provide reassurance and early discharge for those patients with no, or non-serious disease, thus increasing capacity through appropriate and efficient use of finite services
In March 2023, the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB commissioned M·E·L Research to undertake a process and outcome evaluation to explore and demonstrate how the personalised care approaches in the elective care, pre-op MSK pathway at SFH and the cancer prehab pathway at NUH were being delivered. In order to assist future decision-making and commissioning, understanding the challenges, learnings and impact was key. The evaluation also needed to explore the different approaches adopted by the Link Worker providers, namely PICS and Self Help UK.
