Background
Fortia Insight (Formerly RSM Consulting – Strategy, Economics and Policy) was commissioned by the Centre for Homelessness Impact and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on a system-wide evaluation of the ministry’s homelessness provision.
The system-wide evaluation of homelessness is part of a three-year, £15 million initiative commissioned by MHCLG to examine the effectiveness of its provision and to test the impact of a range of innovative ways to reduce homelessness and rough sleeping.
Our role was to
- Evaluate the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG), the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) and the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI)
- Undertake and economic appraisal of the programmes listed above
- Complete a rapid evidence assessment (REA) on the drivers of homelessness and rough sleeping
- Develop a monitoring framework to collate a systems perspective on homelessness and rough sleeping
- Undertake deep dive research on:
- The interaction between the justice system and homelessness and rough sleeping system (including an REA and an evaluation of the Accommodation for Ex-Offenders Programme)
- The transition of refugees out of asylum accommodation and implications for homelessness and rough sleeping
- The influence of social housing allocations on homelessness and rough sleeping
- The interplay between supported housing and homelessness and rough sleeping
- Opportunities for Discretionary Housing Payment and Housing Support Fund to be used in homelessness prevention.
Challenges
- Data integration: one of the key challenges was bringing together different kinds of data, such as numbers from monitoring, insights from interviews, economic analyses and findings from rapid evidence reviews. Combining these sources in a clear, consistent and reliable way required careful planning and ongoing checks to make sure our conclusions were solid and trustworthy.
- Engaging diverse stakeholders: we needed to work closely with many different groups, including service providers, government officials from various departments, local authorities, frontline staff and people with personal experience of homelessness. Balancing these different perspectives required thoughtful communication, sensitivity and a careful approach to ensure everyone felt heard and understood.
- Managing a changing and sensitive context: the evaluation was conducted in a rapidly changing environment in which homelessness was a sensitive and politically charged issue. Topics such as the relationship between the justice system and homelessness, refugee transitions and social housing were particularly complex. Maintaining impartiality, flexibility and clarity was essential as we navigated these challenging and evolving situations.
Impacts
- The evaluation provided MHCLG and local authorities with a deeper understanding of homelessness prevention and the importance of balancing prevention efforts with crisis management. Our findings informed practical steps for local authorities, helping them to effectively allocate funding to prevent homelessness proactively. Additionally, the project brought unique insights that supported collaboration between different government departments, enabling productive discussions around shared challenges.