Policy-makers and researchers are struggling to identify approaches to evaluation that maximise its usefulness in the policy-making process, while also supporting its independence and rigour.

This one-day conference, the first in a series on different aspects of policy and programme evaluation, brings together researchers and policy-makers committed to using evaluation to improve the quality of policy and practice. It aims to focus their knowledge and insights to identify the ingredients of ‘success’ as well as case studies of ‘good practice’.

A short report will be published capturing insights from the meeting, as well as commentaries from the main speakers. The aim is to link this to articles in the specialist and mainstream media with the highlights from the conference concerning the opportunities and challenges offered by evaluation as one important way of improving policy making.

This conference is sponsored by PIRU along with the Public Health Research Consortium and the NIHR School for Public Health Research.

A programme, and booking details, are available at http://www.piru.ac.uk/events/evaluation-making-it-timely-useful-independent-and-rigorous.html.