Government Social Research
The three reports in this series cover the design stage of a demonstration project to test new policies to help those on the margins of the labour market retain work and advance in employment. A demonstration project comprises a limited test of a new programme or policy that is subject to a multi-method evaluation, the centrepiece of which is an impact assessment conducted through random assignment.
The ERA demonstration project was led by the Cabinet Office in conjunction with stakeholder departments – DWP, DfES and HMT. DWP led the operational phase and are responsible for the evaluation of the ERA programme.
This report provides a comprehensive research design for evaluating the ERA Demonstration project. It considers issues of random assignment, sampling, site selection, data collection as well as cost benefit analysis.
This report, based on a review of UK research and expert interviewers fed into the design of the ERA Demonstration project. It examined UK employers’ perspectives on the retention and advancement of low-pay, low-status workers.
This report provides valuable learning from the design phase of the ERA Demonstration project. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of social experiments in evaluating social programmes.
For more information about the ERA Demonstration project please contact the Government Social Research Unit and for further information about the evaluation of the Employment, Retention and Advancement programme please go to the DWP research pages (DWP website).