New Zealand Working For Families programme: Literature review of evaluation evidence

In 2005, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) commissioned research to review international evaluation methodology and literature to help in the preparation of evaluation of the Working for Families (WFF) policy, introduced in 2004 to assist working low- and middle-income families in New Zealand. The results of the study are in two parts: Working for Families: Methodological considerations in evaluating the programme and Working for Families: Literature review of evaluation evidence. This first part, the literature review, reviews international literature, comparing the economic impact of WFF with those of welfare reforms elsewhere. It introduces the central issues within the New Zealand and WFF context using a combination of cross-national comparisons and an intensive country or programme literature review. This provides a good balance between depth and coverage and enables a consistent method of review. Research findings are aimed at government social researchers and will enable evaluation to be carried out on WFF based on a sound understanding of current international evidence and benchmarking.

New Zealand Working For Families programme: Methodological considerations for evaluating MSD programmes

The methodological review is the second part of the evaluation research commissioned by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) in 2005 to help in the preparation of the evaluation of the Working for Families (WFF) programme. This review enumerates the key evaluation questions identified by MSD as central to their policy concerns and considers how the features of WFF could affect evaluation. It details the methodological and data requirements that must be addressed in order to meet the four key evaluation objectives, namely: (1) tracking and evaluating the implementation and delivery of WFF (2) identifying changes in entitlement take-up and reasons for it (3) establishing the impact of WFF on employment-related outcomes (4) assessing WFF’s effect on net income and quality of life more generally. The methodological review complements the literature review by reviewing evaluations from around the world that are pertinent to WFF. An overview of evaluation methods is provided, concentrating on particular issues that arise within the WFF context. Section 2 focuses on implementation and delivery. Section 3 covers the issues related to take-up and entitlement and their evaluation. Section 4 discusses the evaluation methodologies that can be used in evaluating programmes such as WFF and introduces the data requirements they entail. Making work pay is the focus of section 5. Finally, section 6 examines hardship and poverty, living standards and wellbeing.