Evaluation of EPIM III: Emerging Insights From the Evaluation So Far

This report sets out some emerging insights from the ongoing evaluation of the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) 2012-2015 programme. The activities of EPIM and this evaluation lie at the very heart of EPIM's efforts to strengthen the capacity of NGOs active in migration and integration issues, to engage with and influence decision-making at EU and Member state levels, and to do so by drawing on a rigorous evidence base, and through a pragmatic approach. Founded in 2005 as an activity of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) in a unique effort to fund European migration and integration organisations, EPIM's activities include strategic grant-making as well as networking, capacity-building, supporting advocacy and policy work. The Programme has now disbursed over 3m to more than 24 grantee organisations. Drawing on experience and learning from previous phases, EPIM's current three core areas of focus are asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, and equality, integration and social inclusion of vulnerable migrants. Recognising the importance of the role played by civil society, one of EPIM's key goals is to strengthen the advocacy capacities of NGOs at the European level. This goal reflects the fact that over the past decade the EU has become an important actor in the field of immigration and asylum, as well as that the majority of countries face some challenges in this area

The payment by results Social Impact Bond pilot at HMP Peterborough: final process evaluation report

This report presents findings from a process evaluation of the Peterborough pilot, 4 How, if at all, did the pilot lead to better outcomes of reduced reoffending (including the role played by voluntary and community sector organisations and partner agencies)? What wider costs and benefits, if any, do stakeholders feel were incurred through the implementation of the SIB? To what extent did stakeholders feel that the SIB led to greater innovation and/or efficiency? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the SIB contractual model as implemented? What key messages can be taken from the Peterborough pilot that offer useful learning points for future payment by results models and SIBs?

An evaluation of Social Impact Bonds in Health and Social Care: Interim Report

This interim report describes the progress of the nine ‘Trailblazer’ projects that received funds from the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in 2013 to investigate the feasibility of setting up Social Impact Bond (SIB) projects in health and social care in England. The findings discussed in this report are based on a literature review of the SIB literature and on documentary analysis and qualitative interviews with key informants involved in UK SIB development undertaken between May and November 2014

Challenging the boundaries of criminal justice and social policy : responses to priority offenders

This thesis examines the interaction of criminal justice policy and social policy within the Prolific and Priority Offenders Scheme (PPOS), a government initiative which aims to reduce offending by persistent offenders. The research on which this thesis is based takes an interpretative approach to social inquiry and employs a qualitative methodology. It examines the operation of four PPO Schemes in the Thames Valley through semi-structured interviews with 22 practitioners and 16 offenders, and participant observation of over 45 multi-agency meetings. The interaction between crime and social policy is explored through examination of three aspects of the PPOS: the coercion of offenders within the Schemes; the working practices and roles of the police and probation officers seconded to the Schemes; and the way in which information and intelligence is used and generated within the Schemes. The central argument of this thesis is that the widely-accepted idea that social policy is being ‘criminalised’ provides an inadequate account of the relationship between criminal justice and social policy in the PPOS. Rather, this Scheme evidences a merger of criminal justice and social welfare agendas, which includes elements of the ‘socialisation’ of crime policy in addition to elements of ‘criminalisation’ of social policy. Whilst the ultimate aim of the PPOS is to reduce crime, and whilst social welfare services such as health, housing and benefits are provided in pursuance of this aim, the ways in which these services are provided accords with the ethos and values of social policy. The idea of a merger of criminal justice and social policy has relevance beyond the PPOS, providing a framework for analysis of other contemporary criminal justice policies, and contributing to broader debates in criminology which have for so long been dominated by the ‘criminalisation’ thesis.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Evaluation of The Atlantic Philanthropies Migration Programme

This is the final report of an independent evaluation of Atlantic's Migration Programme that ran from 2004 until 2014. The Programme issued grants to organisations helping migrants to gain access to justice and services. The report presents findings about the impacts the Programme had on law, policy and practice in Ireland.The evaluation identified a number of promising practices for civil society organisations advocating for policy and practice change, as well as for funders supporting such organisations. A set of case studies showcase these promising practices, focusing on using legal and community-based advocacy, developing and harnessing information to inform policy and practice, building links to Brussels to influence national and European migration policy and communicating advocacy messages about migration

Assessment of the implementation of the EU Drugs Strategy 2005—2012 and its Action Plans.

As the Strategy comes to an end in 2012 and a decision will need to be taken about its successor, the European Commission commissioned an evaluation of the Strategy and its Action Plans (2005–2008 and 2009–2012). This evaluation focuses on the added value of these documents for drugs policy in Member States and third countries. As the competencies for drugs policy (including its public health, criminal justice, enforcement, and customs components) remain primarily at Member State level, the EU Drugs Strategy is expected to add value over national drugs strategies. Therefore, we provide an assessment of the relevance and influence of the current Strategy and the implementation of the Action Plans in Member States and at EU level. This summary first sets out our study’s main findings: first overall findings about the Strategy as a document and a process; second, across each of the two policy areas, demand reduction and supply reduction; and third, across the three cross-cutting themes of the Strategy, coordination; international cooperation; and information, research and evaluation. Finally, the summary provides a brief overview of the evaluation questions and responses arrived at in the course of the study

Development of a framework to estimate the cost of opioid dependence

Opioid dependence imposes a range of costs on individuals, families, communities and society, and understanding these costs is important to inform policy and decision making in this area, especially when budgets for services to address challenges such as substance misuse are under pressure. This article sets out the findings of a targeted review of the harms of opioid dependence, and an assessment of existing estimates of the costs of opioid dependence. A proposed framework for developing new, more comprehensive estimates of the costs of opioid dependence is outlined