Alma Economics contributed to Moving On, the UK’s first-ever randomised controlled trial focused on homelessness policy, working as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside experts from the Centre for Trials Research of Cardiff University, the Centre for Homelessness Impact, and others. The study was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

In 2020, with the world under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, large numbers of individuals experiencing homelessness were housed in emergency accommodation. However, these measures were only temporary, raising questions for local authorities about how best to assist these individuals moving forward.

The Moving On study designed a pilot RCT to explore the scope for a future full trial aiming to assess the impact of settled accommodation on key outcomes – including those related to COVID-19, housing, general and mental health, employment and alcohol and substance abuse – compared to temporary accommodation.

A key aim of the pilot RCT was to assess the feasibility of recruiting local authorities and eligible participants, retention rates of participants up to 6 months post-randomisation, and the acceptability of the study and its processes (including randomisation) to single homeless households and local authorities.

This work led to the publication of a paper in the journal Pilot and Feasibility Studies.

➥ The paper is available here.