Case Study

Money & Debt Advice Service Impact Assessment

Shelter

Money & Debt Advice Service Impact Assessment

UK

3 months

The Brief

Shelter commissioned an evaluation to understand the performance, impact, and outcomes arising from their British Gas Energy Trust Service (BGET). The service provided face-to-face or helpline support and advice to individuals living in run-down homes, in fuel poverty, or facing other forms of financial hardship. The research objectives of the evaluation were the following:

     •     To understand the outcomes clients have achieved as a result of the BGET service.

     •     To understand the effectiveness of the service in helping clients to write off any fuel arrears they might have.

     •     To understand the most effective methods of advice delivery

Project Approach

Taking a mixed method approach, our research team designed a project toolkit to comprise a review of programme documentation, online and telephone interviews with services users, and interviews with BGET and Shelter staff. The project as a whole was designed in keeping with the OECD REEIS framework: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

The project comprised a range of interviews with both service users and the programme team. Conducting the primary research required a high degree of awareness and responsiveness to working with potentially vulnerable research participants. Primary data analysed for the final report was triangulated and findings were further support through the desk review.

Impact

The evaluation provided our client with valuable learning that assessed current operating practices and user experience, including a series of forward-looking recommendations to improve the services offered.