Provision of Quantitative Net Impact Evaluation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's Working Well Programme

Working Well (WW) is a pilot run by Salford City Council (SCC) on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA) aimed at Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claimants resident in Greater Manchester who are in the Work-related activity Group (WRAG) and have completed the Work Programme. This pilot is jointly funded by GMCA and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) here on in referred to as “the Authority”, and is part of Greater Manchester’s aim to help more residents on long-term out of work benefits move into sustained employment as part of its long-term economic growth and public sector reform programme.

This procurement is to contract a supplier to conduct an impact evaluation of the early cohorts participating in the pilot as set out in the research specification. The analysis will be conducted on an early cohort of programme participants in order to meet the timetable for reporting findings in spring 2016. The components of the tender are:

• To build an analytical dataset and produce descriptive analysis of the pilot;

• Undertake a quantitative evaluation of the pilot to assess the net impact of Working Well participation on benefit receipt and employment outcomes;

• Undertake ex-post Cost-Benefit Analysis to assess the cost effectiveness of the pilot provision compared to alternative provision for ESA (WRAG) claimants who have completed the Work Programme;

• Explore incorporating additional participant data collected by Working Well Providers and GMCA’s evaluation partner, SQW;

• Produce interim and a full synthesis report containing the quantitative net impact analysis and Cost-Benefit Analysis.

The purpose of this contract is to:

• Assess the impact of participation on the Working Well programme on participant flows off benefit and movements into sustained employment, and;

• Understand the cost effectiveness of the pilot compared to current provision for Work Programme leavers on ESA (WRAG), delivered through the Jobcentre Plus Work Services network.

Achievement of the research aim will be dependent on meeting the following objectives:

• Testing whether the Working Well model of integrated support delivered through a private provider working in co-operation with Local Public Services in GMCA, underpinned by mandation, improves benefit and employment outcomes for this claimant group compared to the current post-Work Programme support offered by the Authority to ESA (WRAG) claimants.

• Examining whether benefit and employment outcomes differ by contract package area and by claimant type.

• Understanding the cost effectiveness of the pilot through an ex-post Cost Benefit Analysis, in comparison to the current JCP offer post-Work Programme.