Social Research Unit at Dartington – Investing in Children

Investing in Children

Cost-benefit analysis of education, health, social care and youth justice children’s services.

Job title: Triin Edovald | Gretchen Bjornstad

Partners: Birmingham City Council, Manchester City Council, Youth Justice Board, Pro Bono Economics

The Social Research Unit at Dartington is working to translate the highly-respected Washington State Institute for Public Policy’s (WSIPP) cost-benefit model to UK children’s services.

WSIPP has over the last twenty years developed a highly-regarded cost-benefit methodology for computing the predicted financial costs and benefits (to taxpayers, beneficiaries and others) of different policies, interventions and programmes. What sets the methodology part from other cost-benefit methodologies is the robustness and cautiousness of the methodology, and the fact that it is consistently applied for different policies and interventions across a range of areas, so policymakers and budget-holders can make direct comparisons for the different analysis. The model not only produces costs and benefits, but a probability that benefits will not be at least equal to costs using Monte Carlo simulation. WSIPP’s cost-benefit analysis has been used to inform spending decisions made by the Washington State Legislature over the last decade.

The Social Research Unit is translating the WSIPP model for children’s services in England and Wales, using relevant UK data (including financial estimates) by adjusting the model for how public services (and people’s journeys through public systems) work in the UK context.

We are analysing policies and programmes across five areas: early years and education; youth offending; child and adolescent mental health; child protection and social care; and drugs and alcohol. To date, we have published prototype analysis in three areas, covering around 40 different policies and programmes.

Eventually this cost-benefit data will be brought together with the Social Research Unit’s database of proven interventions to improve children’s outcomes in our Blueprints for Success portal.

For more information about Investing in Children and future data releases, please email Triin Edovald.