This content was originally published as an op-ed by The MJ.

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Nimal Jude, Head of Practice Development at Foundations, introduces a new national programme to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making across children’s services 

How evidence-based is your decision-making? When you’re developing or commissioning services, what kind of evidence are you using and relying on most? And perhaps more importantly – what evidence is being left out? 

We know that evidence-based approaches are the most reliable way to improve outcomes for children and families. Yet the reality is that interventions with the strongest evidence base often aren’t widely used and some popular approaches haven’t been robustly evaluated for impact. 

It matters that we address this gap between evidence about what improves outcomes and practice because as the latest statistics show, the number of children and young people referred to social care is rising. We know that parental mental health and domestic abuse are key drivers of children’s care assessments, and we are finding out more about how to respond to these family challenges. Upcoming reforms to children’s services must be led by robust evidence. 

Yet while evidence is crucial, I know from my own years in practice that knowing ‘what works’ isn’t enough. Even when we identify interventions and approaches with strong evidence of impact, there are lots of reasons why they might not deliver results when implemented locally. We need to understand not just what to do, but how to do it well in different contexts – how to adapt interventions to local populations, how to support workforce readiness, how to build the systems and processes that make evidence-based practice sustainable.   

That’s why I’m really excited to announce the nine local authorities who will be Foundations ‘Partner Places’ in our new Evidence Into Practice programme. This new national programme will support local authorities across England to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making and improve outcomes for children and families.  

Each Partner Place will receive £100k to appoint a Local Evidence Lead and embed evidence at the heart of service design and delivery between now and March 2027. 

We can now confirm our nine Partner Places : Leicester City Council (East Midlands), Southend-on-Sea City Council (East of England), Northumberland County Council (North East), Stockport Council (North West), Wokingham Borough Council (South East), Wiltshire Council (South West), Bradford Children & Families Trust (Yorkshire & the Humber), London Borough of Enfield (Greater London), and Telford & Wrekin Council (West Midlands). 

Evidence Into Practice is designed to support the children’s social care transformation set out in Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive and the Best Start in Life strategy – from targeted Family Hubs and Family Help, through to multi-agency child protection teams and support for children in care and care leavers. We are particularly focusing on service areas where we have clear evidence-based recommendations which can make real difference including supporting parenting where parents are facing challenges, kinship carers, and mentoring and befriending for care-experienced children. 

We’ve partnered with local authorities of different sizes, geographies, and Ofsted ratings. This diversity matters because what the evidence means for services and practice is different from one setting to another. Decision making in the light of evidence is shaped by knowledge of local populations, workforce capacity, and existing systems. 

Of course, commissioning and funding decisions can’t rest on impact evidence alone. Research about ‘what works’ is key, but it needs to be considered alongside other crucial evidence from local population data, the lived experience of children and families, professional expertise, and evidence from implementation and process evaluations. High-quality evidence combined with local expertise and knowledge – that’s how you ensure services will genuinely meet community needs and that you’ve got the opportunity, motivation, and capability to deliver them well. There is lots from implementation science that can help us here and we will be drawing on to support partner places in their work. 

The Local Evidence Lead in each Partner Place will be an agent for change in the local system, addressing common barriers to evidence-based decision-making and supporting implementation of evidence-based approaches. They’ll work with us to put Foundations’ free Toolkit into practice locally, Our Toolkit includes Practice Guides, commissioned by the Department for Education and produced by Foundations, and Foundations Guidebook, which has information on over 130 evidence-based interventions.  

Crucially, Partner Places will be supported to develop a strong national network and exchange learning with neighbouring local authorities in their region, supported by Foundations, the DfE, Local Government Association and Principal Social Worker regional leads. This will strengthen regional capacity  to use evidence as the reforms are implemented, ensuring the benefits extend well beyond the nine Partner Places. 

For local authority leaders, Evidence Into Practice offers a structured approach to putting evidence at the heart of decision-making whilst maintaining local focus. Partner Places will identify their priorities based on local need, then work with us to access and implement the best available evidence. We’re not prescribing solutions – we’re providing the tools, expertise, to help you make evidence-informed choices about what works for your communities. 

As the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progresses and new duties around Family Help come into effect, the demand for effective, evidence-based services is growing. Our Partner Places will demonstrate that rigorous evidence use, and responsive local delivery aren’t competing priorities – they are two sides of the same coin.  

Over the coming months, we’ll share learning from these partnerships to build a connected culture of evidence use across the sector. Because ultimately, this isn’t just about nine authorities. It’s about creating a system where evidence-informed practice becomes routine, and where every child receives support that has been shown to make a genuine difference to their lives.