Quarterly Briefing - NetWork 13.

This will still be distributed as a paper document but also as an attachment for emails. We hope this two-pronged approach means you will be able to spread the latest news about your agency's relationship with the research in practice network more easily - and more widely.

directors give their backing to our new organisational support for evidence based practice action pack

Julie Jones (Director of Social and Community Services, Westminster City Council), Rob Hutchinson (Director of Social Services, Portsmouth City Council) and Andrew Webb (Director of Health and Social Services, Cheshire County Council) attended a launch each and introduced the Pack in glowing terms.

What they're saying

'The subject matter of the REAL Organisational Support for Evidence Based Practice Action Pack is a crucial part of supporting research-practice partnerships. It is based on careful evaluation of what seems to work - by listening to staff, to service users, and to management and finding out what works for them.' (Julie Jones)

'We all have much to do to really understand the importance of evaluation in our service planning. This REAL Organisational Support for Evidence Based Practice Action Pack provides a framework to build that evaluative culture.' (Rob Hutchinson)

'The audit (in this Action Pack) is the most comprehensive way of assessing the fitness of your organisation. Like any journey, if you don't know where you are when you start, it's almost impossible to tell where you are going, or when you've arrived.' (Andrew Webb)

headlined in this issue

1. Our NIFTY (Neat, Informative, Feasible, Timely, Yours) Evaluation Project

2. New Link Officer briefing pack

3. What's happened in the last three months?

4. What's coming up in the next three months?

during the last three months

Help the children in your care to enjoy poetry, sport, performance and art, all in their Spare Time . Do you know what your council is doing to help children in your care develop their skills and achievements in sports and arts out-of-school activities? We ran a fringe meeting at this year's Social Services Conference in Cardiff which focused on the value of promoting the engagement of young people (particularly those looked after) in sports and arts activities. We covered the research, government assistance and examples from local authorities of positive action they had taken to increase access and participation. This was a joint presentation by the DH, Brighton & Hove SSD and research in practice . If you would like a leaflet with six key questions to ask your senior officers please contact ask@rip.org.uk

new research in practicepublications this quarter .

during the coming three months

Next Research Review -

Disabled Parents and Research: examining assumptions is in the process of being reviewed by academics and practitioners - ready for publication early in the New Year.

Quality Protects Research Briefing 7

Women and Children First -

practice based research: the next step - we are taking bookings for a joint conference with Warwick University on 6 March 2003. The partnership aims to create an environment in which practitioners and researchers can meet as equals. The conference will consider new research from the perspective of those doing and those using research and review ways of contributing to practice and policy development in the fields of domestic abuse, wider childcare issues and the safety and well-being of women and children, looking at examples of innovative developments across the country. If you would like more information or a booking form please contact elizabeth@rip.org.uk

help for website users .

We are working on aspects of the website to help users and potential users make better use of the site. A new 'Help Page' is being built, and a monthly 'What's New' email will be sent automatically to all visitors to the site who register their email address. Providing website usage reports to Partner and Member agencies has stimulated debates within agencies about what can be done to encourage low users to take better advantage of what the site has to offer them.

NIFTY Evaluation Project to run again in autumn 2003 by popular demand

November saw the exciting completion of the NIFTY (Neat, Informative, Feasible, Timely, Yours) project. This is a development project developed jointly by research in practice together with colleagues at the research department at the National Children's Bureau (NCB) in response to the increasing demand for evaluation advice, support and consultancy from local authorities and voluntary organisations. The project provides tuition, consultancy, mentoring and networking support to a group of local authorities wishing to develop skills and confidence in conducting and commissioning single service evaluations.

Seven local authorities were recruited from research in practice Partner agencies, each nominating two members of staff to be involved in the NIFTY project over a 12-month period. Each participating agency committed to using the NIFTY project to support a specific piece of evaluative work - planning a new service, evaluating an existing one, commissioning an external evaluation or including an evaluation requirement in a service level agreement. The types of local evaluation that the NIFTY project is supporting are extremely varied and include a contracted-out children's rights service, a leaving care service, the work of family centres, and services for adolescents.

Catherine Shaw, Principal Research Officer at NCB led the group. In summer 2003 we will publish, jointly with NCB, a brief guide to NIFTY evaluation, based on the learning gained from the project work. NIFTY2 will run in the autumn of 2003.

Link Officer Pack - helping you do a good job

A new pack has been produced to help Link Officers carry out their role effectively. It includes a variety of useful and practical information that should support Link Officers in their efforts to promote the use of evaluated research and the integration of evidence based practice into their organisation. The Pack was launched in December as an electronic and a paper document. It will be regularly updated, and should support Link Officers who are new to the task.

winter diary

What is research in practice?

research in practiceis a sizeable UK research implementation network specialising in the children and families field. We help service agencies develop cultures, strategies and practices that allow our Partner and Member agencies to make best use of research in the planning and delivery of services to vulnerable children and their families. research in practice acts as a catalyst, working in partnership with social care statutory and voluntary agencies and as a developmental network, connecting research and practice.

we offer support for this task through:

• our Learning Events Programme
  
• the networking and developmental opportunities that we co-ordinate and
  
• the publications and resources that we send to Partners, Members and Associates on a regular basis.

This briefing will continue to regularly provide an update on developments in the research in practicenetwork, a creative partnership between the Association of Directors of Social Services, the Dartington Hall Trust, the University of Sheffield and over 65 participating local authorities and voluntary childcare organisations. Our mission is to support these agencies and the wider childcare community in their determination to become more research-minded as they strive to improve the lives of vulnerable children and their families.

For more information please contact:
Celia Atherton
research in practice
Blacklers, Park Rd
Dartington Hall
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 6EQ
Tel: 01803 867692
Email: celia@rip.org.uk
or
Colleen Eccles
research in practice
Children and Families Research Group
Elmfield Building
University of Sheffield
Sheffield
S10 2TU
Tel:0114 222 6484
Email: c.eccles@sheffield.ac.uk
or
For Membership enquiries please contact sal@rip.org.uk
Tel: 01803 867692