Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Administrative Data Guidance: pilot study report

Ellison, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9019-6582 and Cook, Will (2024) Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Administrative Data Guidance: pilot study report. Project Report. Youth Endowment Fund.

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Abstract

At the heart of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) approach to evaluation is the use of rigorous research methods, such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental designs, to find out whether an intervention, project or activity is effective. Effectiveness can be measured in many ways and depends on what the intervention aims to change – the outcome. YEF uses the following data sources to measure the effectiveness of the projects it funds: 1) Measurement of self-reported outcomes within the evaluation period – Because we want to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in violence and crime in the first place, we fund many interventions, projects or activities that support children and young people ‘upstream’ of involvement in crime or violence. That means that we focus on projects that aim to change outcomes (or risk and protective factors) that are related to violent and criminal behaviour later. 2) Measurement of outcomes administrative data within the evaluation period – Ultimately, YEF’s mission is to build the evidence base for what works in reducing crime and violence. Therefore, wherever feasible, evaluators are encouraged to select a crime and violence outcome as the evaluation’s primary outcome wherever possible. 3) Tracking of the long-term outcomes of projects after an evaluation has finished – YEF’s data archive involves collecting, storing and archiving data on participants so they can be followed up on and their outcomes assessed against criminal justice records in future years. YEF has guidance on 1) and 3) but no guidance around 2). This report is designed to fill that gap. YEF’s outcomes framework and measurement review provide comprehensive guidance on measuring risk and protective factors (1), with additional guidance on the core measures used in many YEF evaluations: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Self-Reported Delinquency Scale. However, YEF will always want to measure crime and violence directly through administrative data wherever possible. This is facilitated by our data archive, which enables researchers to access data on YEF-funded trials. YEF has provided detailed guidance for evaluators on the data archive.