Research and Evaluation
Bromley by Bow’s combined Research and Evaluation team is part of Bromley by Bow Insights. The combined social and community research team delivers a quantitative and qualitative programme of primary and secondary research, both on and offline. Please see the 2021-22 Research and Evaluation Plan and get in touch if you would like to discuss collaborating.
What we do:
We gather, record and amplify the authentic community voice which sits at the Centre of Bromley by Bow’s work, often unheard in policy discussions. The work is tightly tied to our engagement and our relationships within the local community and with local organisations. Members of the community are paramount, as researchers, strategic influencers and study participants.
We deliver:
- Community Engagement and Citizen Science – click here
- Outcome Measurement and Evaluation – click here
Why we do it:
To improve health outcomes by influencing change for local people, lives and places. Through our work we find out:
- What matters to communities.
- How to deliver services that work for local people.
- Changes for clients as a direct result of our work, using markers that matter to the local community.
- Evidence of need and change, to improve delivery and influence policy makers.
Learn more about working with us
Our recent publications
Visit our relevant evaluation and community research pages for more information and resources related to our most recent projects.
East End Energy Fit: An Energy Advice Evaluation
“If you don’t continue, we are blind.”
In May 2023, the Insights team evaluated the one-to-one energy advice support through a deep dive into a year of the service. In a context of increased financial instability, this support establishes foundations for financial resilience.
It's Our Turn Project Evaluation
The one-year project between partners Real, ICM Foundation CIC, On Our Radar and the Bromley by Bow Centre facilitated co-produced understandings and solutions to challenges of loneliness for Disabled people. Participants reported improved confidence, connection and wellbeing.
Empower You Too: Multi-faceted, community support to take action on energy bills
Empower You Too provided Energy Champion training, energy advice and workshops to over 1,766 unique households from 2020-2022. This report evaluates its achievements.
COVID-19 and Long Term Health Conditions: Interaction with Experiences of Ethnicity and Migration
“How do you find a balance because you’re fighting with two things at the same time – your mental and your physical state you know?” (I49)
This research explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with long-term health conditions and how this has interacted with ethnicity and migration experiences in particular, through 34 semi-structured interviews. This research was conducted with the support of UCL as part of the wider CICADA-ME study, funded by NIHR.
Peer Support for Mental Health
In 2021-22, we worked with City, University of London to explore experiences and understandings of peer support for mental health in Tower Hamlets and how this interacted with community, ethnicity and culture.
iConnect Evaluation
In 2022, the Insights team evaluated the recent iConnect project, an integrated energy advice, digital and financial inclusion project. Through enabling conversation; simple, actionable steps and connection with the system, the team enabled participants to feel in control of their finances and to take action for themselves.
Growing Together Parent Power: A Participatory Evaluation
In 2022, Insights completed a participatory evaluation of the Growing Together Parent Power project, with the aim to connect parents and support early learning.
Rapid Response Social Prescribing Evaluation
In 2021, we measured the change made by our new Rapid Response Social Prescribing service using our new people focused approach to outcome measurement.
Since July 2020, through proactive outreach 435 clients in crisis have been referred for the social, emotional and practical support provided by the service. On average, clients scored their wellbeing at a low 2.7 out of 10. Putting this into context, a mean score of 6.9 was provided by the general population of Great Britain for the same period[1].
One client said:
‘I feel like Rapid Response Social Prescribing has saved my life – before, I was feeling very low to the point where I wanted to end things’.
[1] Office for National Statistics Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN): https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/datasets/totalpopulationestimatesonpersonalandeconomicwellbeingacrosstime
What makes the best start in life for children in Tower Hamlets?
Across 2020-2021, we ran a community research project supported by the ActEarly consortium over the COVID-19 pandemic to explore what makes the best start in life for children in Tower Hamlets.
Unleashing Healthy Communities
Our 2018 Unleashing Healthy Communities report was a turning point to understanding the Bromley by Bow model.
