Government Social Research
Trying It Out - The Role of 'Pilots' in Policy-Making Report of a Review of Government Pilots (PDF)
3. The case for piloting
3.1 Types of pilot
3.2 Properties of pilots
3.3 What’s in a name?
3.4 Pilots as insurance policies
3.5 Pilots to test variance
3.6 Examples of impact and process pilots
3.7 Timing of pilots
4. Pilot methodologies
4.1 Alternative approaches
4.2 Experimental methods – randomised controlled trials
(RCTs)
4.3 ‘Ethical’ considerations and RCTs
4.4 Quasi-experimental methods
5. The US perspective
5.1 Widespread use of RCTs
5.2 Some exceptions and reservations
5.3 Contrasts between the US and Britain
5.4 How much influence do pilots have?
6. Experience in the UK – survey responses
6.1 Range and spread of pilots
6.2 Political v. research imperatives
6.3 Timetable imperatives
6.4 Transparency of results
6.5 Who decides?
6.6 Design considerations
6.7 Resource considerations
6.8 Technical considerations
6.9 Promoting innovation
Annex 1: Workshop participants
Annex 2: Methods
2.1 Project organisation
2.2 Approach
Annex 3: The Interview guide