Evaluation partner: engagement with children and young people - National Keyworking Evaluation

NHS Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit (AGEM) has been commissioned to conduct an evaluation of the Keyworking Programme. The evaluation will focus on early adopter areas and use mixed methods to test the theory of change described in a single logic model The aim of this exercise is to contract with a suitably experienced and qualified supplier to ensure appropriate engagement, using qualitative evaluations methods, with autistic Children and Young (CYP) with learning disabilities and parents/ carers. The successful bidder will be responsible for designing and completing robust and adaptive data collection, in line with the Evaluation Framework, from CYP allocated a Keyworker, and parents/ carers in participating sites. The successful bidder will also be responsible for analysing and reporting findings to inform the wider national evaluation led by NHS Arden & GEM CSU. The evaluation design is based on the Evaluation Framework developed for NHS England and NHS Improvement in 2020 following engagement with sites to develop guidance for setting up Keyworking in 22/23. The evaluation will provide a qualitative view of the programme impact by following CYP and parent/ carer experiences over time, contributing to an in-depth understanding of Keyworking’s impact on achieving personalised care, whether elements of the model appear to work more effectively than others and in what circumstances. This will be supported by quantitative evaluation of the impact on specific resource use and individual risk status, using routine inpatient and bespoke data collection by participating sites. NHS Arden & GEM will lead and manage the overall evaluation. We are seeking a partner to lead on the direct engagement with autistic Children and Young People (CYP) and CYP with learning disabilities , and parents/ carers in order to:  to understand their experience of Keyworking,  to explore the impact of Keyworking on their journey through services, and on their everyday lives. AGEM has a three staged approach to the evaluation and will work with the successful bidder to ensure activities are aligned: