Evaluating Complexity
Complexity-informed approaches to understanding social change
Sharing learning, tools, and resources for realist-informed evaluation of whole-system and place-based approaches, including configurational comparative analysis.
The National Evaluation and Learning Partnership
Welcome to the Evaluating Complexity website.
The National Evaluation and Learning Partnership for Place is a four-year evaluation programme led by experts at Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) alongside partners including Collaborate CIC, Hartpury University, and Substance Ltd.
The evaluation is funded by Sport England and is aimed at understanding and explaining various barriers and opportunities for physical activity and how this differs based on local contexts in communities across the country.
Levels of activity differ between individuals due to many factors including personal characteristics, home/work life, the places people live, and broader social trends. This evaluation looks at all these different factors and assesses them as a ‘whole-system approach’, which has been embedded in communities through previous funding into physical activity programmes by Sport England.
It will also evaluate these programmes through community insight and experiences from the people who live and work in different places to understand what contributes to physical activity inequality in their area, known as a ‘place-based’ approach.
Findings from the evaluation will be used to shape policy and practice for physical activity interventions, a key area of focus for the new government in its drive to move from sickness to prevention in the NHS.
Resources
