Today, the Evaluation Task Force – a joint Cabinet Office and HM Treasury team – has launched the Evaluation Registry, a new website on GOV.UK. The Registry brings together all planned, ongoing, and complete evaluations of government policy into one accessible location, providing an invaluable tool for understanding “what works” in Government.
Evaluation is the systematic assessment of the design, implementation, and outcomes of a policy intervention. Evaluation is essential for ensuring that the Government understands the efficiency, effectiveness, and value for money of its policies, projects, and programmes. Government departments conduct and commission hundreds of evaluations each year, but there has not previously been a single, unified place to access the findings of evaluations.
The Registry provides key information on the programmes and policies that have been or will be evaluated across government, the methodological approaches used in these evaluations, and summaries of evaluation findings. The Registry supports the wider public sector reform objective of accountability and provides an invaluable tool for understanding “what works”, contributing to evidence based reform and the share of best practice in Government.
Since April 2024, it has been mandatory for all central government departments to use the Registry. Departments are required to upload details of all existing evaluation plans and evaluation findings to the Registry, and the Evaluation Task Force will use this information to monitor evaluation activity across government.
As of January 2025, the Registry includes information on over 1,400 evaluations. The public launch of the Registry will make this information available to the members of the public in public view-only access. Users will be able to search for evaluations of different policies and programmes.
The public launch therefore represents an important step towards improved transparency and accountability in government.
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