The Evidence Project: A guide for child, youth & family services to access & use evidence
Social and human services are being asked more often to show proof that their services work, and to show how they use evidence in what they do. For many of us, understanding the various types of evidence, finding evidence, and then using that evidence to inform and validate the work we do, is a daunting task.
This resource is designed to support child, youth and family services to better understand how to access and use evidence in service design and planning. It provides an overview of some key concepts related to evidence, and how these can be used to explain the value of your current or intended work.
The resource is presented in two parts:
Part One: Understanding and using ‘Evidence’
- What is ‘evidence’?
- Evidence-Based and Evidence-Informed Practice
- Hierarchy of Evidence
- Using evidence in service design, planning and practice
- Identifying sources of evidence
Part Two: Program Logics and Theory of Change
- Purpose and key components of Program Logics
- Program Logics and Theory of Change: The same thing or different?
- Program Logic examples and templates
We hope this helps you to identify the various types of evidence informing your work and describe how your service draws on and reflects current evidence in the work that you do or intend to do in the future. As you work through the resource there are opportunities to pause and think through what kind of evidence you can draw on.
