Author: Eccles, Colleen

Source: Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, Volume 5, Number 2, May 2009 , pp. 193-206(14)

Publisher: Policy Press

Abstract:

There is much support from the UK government for the development and implementation of policy and practice that is based on evidence. For over a decade, Research in Practice (RiP) has developed a web of interconnected strategies for delivering evidence-informed practice to professionals at all levels in children's services. This article examines why the RiP model has proved sustainable and has grown in size and influence over the past 12 years. The article starts with a brief outline and illustrative examples of RiP's mechanisms of delivery. Delivery is then explored in relation to the concepts of the individual, the champion, the agency and the network to enable analysis of need and impact at these levels.

Cross-cutting this framework is the argument that an essential factor in RiP's success has been a move away from traditional evidence-based practice towards the adoption of a pluralistic notion of 'evidence' (Blewett, 2007). Furthermore, the use of the term 'informed' deliberately places human agency at the heart of decision making. In RiP's approach, research is a key but not sole determinant of decision making and evidence is inclusive of practice wisdom and service user views. In particular, the development of RiP's Change Project method is described as a response to deepening engagement with practice. It is argued that engagement with research as a process, rather than the pure transfer of research knowledge, is essential in delivering effective methods of evidence-informed practice.

Keywords: EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE; STRATEGIES; DELIVERY; IMPACT

Document Type: Regular paper

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/174426409X437937

Publication date: 2009-05-01

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