EU citizens living in Wales: Community integration, equality of opportunity and equality of outcome — Welsh Government

Our team was commissioned by the Welsh Government to explore the opportunities and outcomes for EU citizens in Wales and suggest ways to support the integration process. This work is part of the EU Citizens Rights (EUCR) project, which aims to encourage EU citizens to remain in Wales and ensure that they are protected from exploitation and exclusion.

Using public survey data, we compared outcomes of EU citizens living in Wales to Welsh citizens in the areas of employment, housing, health and benefits, language skills and national identity. We also actively engaged with EU citizens, local government officials and organisations providing support to EU citizens living in Wales to explore broader areas and issues in the integration process. Our study concluded with a set of actionable policy recommendations that can be implemented to improve the integration of EU citizens in Wales. 

➥ Our report is available on the Welsh Government website. 

Cost-benefit analysis of Women’s Centres — Women in Prison

Women's Centres provide gender-specific support under one roof to address the root causes of offending by providing support on housing, harmful substance use, mental and physical health, employment, debt, domestic abuse and family and parenting issues. Alma Economics was commissioned by Women in Prison (WIP), a national charity that supports women affected by the criminal justice system, to explore the socio-economic value that Women’s Centres generate and compare it to their cost.

Based on the best available evidence in the literature and discussions with staff from Women’s Centres, we developed a logic model that sets out the mechanisms through which investment in the Centres can generate medium and longer-term outcomes for women, their children and society. We also carried out a cost-benefit analysis to quantify economic benefits and monetise gains in welfare for women receiving support from a hypothetical Centre (created using data from Women’s Centres).

Our research suggests that benefits generated by the Centres outweigh costs across different funding scenarios, reflecting the current level of resources available to the Centres, as well as the level of funding required to support all women in need at a local level.

➥ The Women in Prison report can be found here.

Consultation on the Disability Action Plan 2023 to 2024

Alma Economics provided analysis of the 2023 consultation on a new Disability Action Plan (DAP), for the Cabinet Office. The DAP sets out immediate actions the government could take to improve disabled people’s lives and lay the foundations for longer-term change. The consultation asked respondents for feedback on priority areas for the government to focus on and how these might best be delivered if they were taken forward.

Alma Economics’ team conducted a transparent, rigorous, and systematic analysis of valid responses. We calculated descriptive statistics on the closed-answer questions and conducted a thematic analysis to identify common themes raised in the open-text questions. Our findings will contribute to evidence-based policymaking and will ensure that the voices of disabled people are heard. The research will assist the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit in further developing and implementing the Disability Action Plan.

➥ Our report is available here.

Evaluability Assessment of the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales

We were commissioned by the Welsh Government to recommend how the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales should be evaluated. The plan aims to make Wales the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe, ensuring the rights and well-being of all LGBTQ+ individuals are respected, protected, and fulfilled.

Following a detailed literature review, we interviewed 50 stakeholders – including dozens of Welsh Government civil servants and LGBTQ+ organisations and experts. With this, we produced a theory of change and collected metrics which can be used to support the implementation and evaluation of the LGBTQ+ Action Plan. Our final recommendation is for a process evaluation to be conducted as soon as possible and for a mixed-methods realist-inspired impact evaluation to be conducted over the coming years.

➥ Read more here.

Consultation analysis on the Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Proposal

In November 2023, an agreement was reached between the central government and Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council, and North East Lincolnshire Council that would see extra powers and funding transferred from Westminster to Greater Lincolnshire. Subsequently, a public consultation was held to enable residents and local stakeholders to have their say on the terms of the devolution proposal.

The consultation ran between December 2023 and January 2024 and posed questions on the proposal’s six areas of focus: (i) new jobs and business growth; (ii) education and training; (iii) roads, buses and transport; (iv) homes and communities; (v) environment; and (vi) governance, as well as capturing general views on the proposal.

Alma Economics was commissioned by the constituent Councils to provide independent analysis of the responses to the consultation. We carried out quantitative and qualitative analysis of the closed and open-text responses, identifying key themes. Our report then informed the final proposal, which was amended taking into account the results of the consultation.

➥ Read more detail here.

➥ The report can be found here.

Analysis of the Call for Evidence responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review — Scottish Government

In 2014, the Scottish Government launched Equally Safe, a strategy to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG). In this context, an Independent Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls Services in Scotland was announced, and in June 2022 the review launched a call for evidence to gather the public’s opinions.

Alma Economics was commissioned to provide independent analysis of the responses to the consultation and produce a comprehensive summary of individuals’ and organisations’ views. Our team carried out quantitative and qualitative analysis of 475 responses from individuals and organisations, producing summary statistics and conducting a thematic analysis of open-text responses.

Our analysis revealed a set of overarching themes which were common across many of the questions, including requests for: i) single-sex services and female-only staff, ii) holistic and integrated services, iii) increased funding for VAWG services, and iv) additional training available to the VAWG workforce.

Our report summarises the key themes raised by the respondents and will help inform the development of the new funding model by the Scottish Government for services for victims of VAWG.

➥ Read our report here.

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland: Analysis of consultation responses — Scottish Government

Human rights are the foundation of just and equitable societies, safeguarding the dignity and freedom of all individuals. For this reason, the Scottish Government has committed to introducing a new Human Rights Bill before the end of the 2023-2024 parliamentary year. As outlined, the proposed Bill aims to incorporate international human rights standards already signed and ratified by the UK into Scottish law. It also strives to enhance existing human rights and equality protections by creating a clear, robust, and accessible legal framework that places specific duties on those delivering devolved public functions .

To inform the development of the new Human Rights Bill, the Scottish Government conducted a public consultation between 15 June and 5 October 2023 and carried out seven public consultation events. The consultation posed 52 questions, with 42 open-text and 10 closed-answer questions.

Alma Economics was commissioned to conduct a transparent, rigorous, and systematic analysis of the responses. We calculated descriptive statistics on the closed-answer questions and conducted a thematic analysis to identify common themes raised in the open-text questions as well as during the seven community consultation events. The findings of our analysis will contribute to evidence-based policymaking and will assist the Scottish Government to further develop proposals for the new Human Rights Bill.

➥ Our report is available here:

Data and analysis on the equality impact of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary’s move to alpha — Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS, split to form new departments in 2023) commissioned Alma Economics to provide data and analysis on the equality impact of proposed pension changes for Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) staff.

Our experts used a longitudinal HR dataset to investigate the effects of the proposed changes. Having completed the analysis, we produced a concise report detailing the magnitude and impact the proposed changes would have on CNC staff if implemented.

Long-term prison estates strategy: literature review — Ministry of Justice

The UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) commissioned Alma Economics to conduct a Rapid Evidence Assessment to inform its long-term prison estates strategy. This report synthesised a large body of literature providing evidence on how prison design can influence outcomes for prisoners, prison staff, and society more widely. The report included examples of prison design best practices in England, Wales, and other countries.

This research supported policymakers in shaping the future development and renovation of prison estates in England and Wales, and provides a foundation for further work.

For this literature review, our team developed a search protocol tailored to specific research questions allowing for a transparent and replicable search of the literature. The findings were summarised in an Evidence Map, an interactive online tool that allows users to explore the evidence of interest swiftly and identify gaps in the literature.

We further delivered a technical report outlining our methodology, a narrative summary presenting overarching findings, and a Research Extraction Sheet providing further information on the studies included in the map.

The Evidence Map we created is available here.

Banning conversion therapy consultation analysis — Government Equalities Office

Conversion therapy has been defined as “an attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or to change them to or from being transgender”. Conversion therapy can cause severe impacts on those affected, including negative mental health outcomes, homelessness and isolation.

In October 2021, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) released a public consultation on proposals to ban conversion therapy, which closed in February 2022. The consultation sought views on a package of proposed measures that would apply to England and Wales.

Our approach to analysing the responses included both manual and guided machine-learning textual analysis. This method allowed us to combine our understanding of the subject and analytical expertise with Natural Language Processing tools developed in-house by Alma’s Tech team to analyse large amounts of text, ensuring every view was represented in the final report.

Parental involvement and children’s wellbeing

Alma Economics explored evidence on the impact of parental involvement on a child’s welfare. We carried out a targeted literature review, prioritising academic literature and using grey literature to fill evidence gaps identified by the research team.

The review covered an extensive breadth of circumstances, including types of parental harm or adverse childhood experiences and child and family characteristics.

Our work informed discussions about a legal framework regarding parental involvement and court decisions on child arrangements.

Business intelligence training

Alma Economics was engaged by a partnership offering probation services to councils in South East England to provide training and hands-on assistance to improve analytical services and management performance.

We delivered modules on cost-benefit analysis, econometrics, statistics and evaluation. The training included context-specific examples to highlight the relevance of analytical concepts.

To develop the sessions, our team drew from Alma Economics’ significant database of learning resources that can be adapted to the specific requirements of funded organisations and their operating environment.