Leadership for Systemwide Change
Event date: 9 April 2025
Hosted by Durka Dougall and Samira Ben Omar from the Centre for Population Health, this session explored how inclusive leadership can strengthen research practices, community engagement, and equitable healthcare.
Funder Priorities
Event date: 20 March 2025
Helping you design your evaluations with funder priorities in mind, to ultimately communicate impact effectively, this session led by Marcus Green, Regional Director at Optum, built upon previous Evaluation Network Cafés, as well as the one on Bid Writing.
Rapid Evaluation
Event date: 6 March 2025
Building upon the basics of evaluation covered in the September and October 2024 Network Cafés, this session, led by Marcus Green, Regional Director at Optum, guides you on how to evaluate your projects efficiently and effectively.
Where to Find Data for Community and Voluntary Organisations
Event date: 28 January 2025
This session was led by Alice Linell (Data Programmes Lead) and Karen McLean (Data Support Adviser) from Superhighways, and explored key health and wellbeing data sets to shape services and beyond.
Smart Literature Searches and Critical Appraisal for NHS Professionals
Event date: 13 December 2024
This session was led by Liz Lourandos, Knowledge Specialist at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, and explored best practice and techniques for effective literature searching and critical appraisal.
Read the Summary
The informative, online session supported participants in developing evidence-based approaches in their work by combining live demonstrations, hands-on exercises and critical thinking strategies to strengthen their literature searching and critical appraisal skills.
Attracting attendees from organisations such as NHS trusts, local councils, and voluntary sector groups, holding a variety of roles such as public health leads, clinical researchers, student nurses, library assistants, and mental health practitioners across South West London, it was a diverse group who joined us online. Some of the session highlights were Boolean Logic Made Simple: A well-received Venn diagram effectively illustrated how to use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to structure searches with precision.
Participants also enjoyed the live demonstration of various search techniques. Liz guided attendees through tools such as the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub and Ovid, explaining strategies like using keywords, Boolean operators, combining searches, applying filters, and copying search histories to refine results – all for searching the literature strategically.
The evidence pyramid helped participants distinguish between filtered and unfiltered information. Tools like the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist were introduced for systematically evaluating the reliability and applicability of research articles.
This session emphasised the value of thoughtful research practices to confidently integrate high-quality evidence for informed decision-making in healthcare research.
In the feedback, participants said that, “it was very well organised,” and that “the relaxed nature of the learning, the example of the literature search, and the journal review were all great.”
Participants left with a solid understanding of how to plan and execute effective literature searches using tools like Medline, CINAHL, and Embase, and practical techniques for critical appraisal, including evaluation of evidence with the CASP checklists. The session also explored strategies for navigating research databases and applying advanced search filters to improve accuracy and outcomes.
Turning Vision into Funded Projects: A Network Cafe on Bid Writing
Event date: 27 November 2024
This session was led by Alison White (Head of Innovation, Health Innovation Network South London/NHS SWL ICB) and Kate Scott (Associate Professor, Kingston University) and explored the art and science of bid writing.
Measuring Outcomes & Proving Impact
Event date: 7 October, 2024
The session was led by Marcus Green, Optum, and built on the September discussion on the importance of evaluation
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This Network Café attracted diverse voices from NHS England, local councils, voluntary sector organisations, community groups, academics, and university students, creating a great opportunity for cross-sector exchange of discussions about what it means to demonstrate impact in research today.
At the heart of the session was the logic model framework, which Marcus skillfully unpacked. Starting with the rationale behind each project, the model maps a clear path through inputs, activities, outputs, and ultimately, long-term outcomes. Real-world examples, like the Wallington Community Garden project, made these ideas tangible, showing how a well-planned evaluation can transform a community’s efforts into measurable success.
“Working through the logic model and peer experiences made the concepts come alive.” – Participant
Participants were not just listeners – they actively engaged in the session through Menti exercises and group discussions, applying these frameworks directly to their own work.
The final part of the session focused on proving value for money in today’s resource-conscious environment and exploring practical approaches to both financial and social value assessment.
In its entirety, the session highlighted the power of thoughtful evaluation as a method of accountability and a way to substantiate the real-world impact of research. It went beyond theory, equipping attendees with the tool to demonstrate that their work is not just valuable, but can be truly transformative for the communities they serve.
“The quality of discussions between participants was excellent, and I learned a lot from the session.” – Participant.
The Importance of Evaluation
Event date: 13 September 2024
The session was led by Marcus Green, Optum, who focused on understanding evaluation practices for real-world projects.
Best practice when conducting surveys
Event date: 9 August 2024
The session was led by Dr. Catherine Heffernan, who drew in a diverse audience eager to improve their survey techniques.
Read the summary
The session also covered the importance of data and measurement, discussing how to gather both qualitative and quantitative data that can provide useful insights. The session encouraged close collaborations with stakeholders from the beginning to ensure robust data collection.
Next, the session moved to designing evaluation methods that suit each project’s unique context. We discussed the Logic Model, a framework that helps map out the flow from inputs to outcomes, showing how small actions can lead to significant, measurable change. Marcus also stressed the value of using SMART metrics to ensure that projects are realistic in what they aim to achieve.
Speaking on the session, one attendee shared, “The quality of discussion between participants was excellent,” highlighting the value of collective input, and many participants left with new connections and expressed excitement about building on them.
The group activities were a central part of the session, allowing everyone to apply the concepts in a practical setting. One exercise involved critiquing poorly designed questionnaires, which sparked lively discussions. Another activity focused on creating a codebook for data analysis, a tool useful to organise and interpret survey results effectively.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Many valued the interactive nature of the event and the practical activities, noting how much they learned from each other’s experiences. This Network Café was a powerful example of how collective learning can deepen understanding and provide practical tools for conducting successful research.
SWL Research Support Network Launch
Event date: 16 May 2024
The event saw the launch of the SWL Research Support Network and provided a great opportunity to connect with fellow researchers and access support at the fantastic Oru Sutton.
Evaluation Framework Workshops
Workshop Overview
Led by Marcus Green, Optum, discover the individual evaluation framework sessions we conducted throughout 2023 and early 2024.
You can also download the evaluation tools and resources used during the sessions.
Session 1: The Evaluation Toolkit and Introduction to the Programme of Support
Event date: 31 October 2023
Session 2: From Data to Measures and Measurement
Event date: 7 November 2023
Session 3: Data Sources for Evaluation of Health Inequalities Programmes
Event date: 21 November 2023
Session 4: Qualitative Study Methods
Event date: 5 December 2023
Session 5: Quantitative Study Methods
Event date: 9 January 2024
Session 6: Evaluation Bias
Event date: 16 January 2024
Additional Evaluation Resources
Evaluation of Projects – OBA Model
Led by Nadine Wyatt, Health and Social Care Programme Lead at Sutton Council & NHS South West London ICB on the 28 January 2024.
Introduction to Logic Models
CEO of the Asian Resource Centre, Croydon, Ima Miah delivered this session for attendees on
