News & Views

The SCiP Alliance brought together practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and funders for the official launch of the SCiP Alliance Impact Centre, an initiative dedicated to strengthening evidence-led action across the sector supporting Service children. The Impact Centre has been made possible through funding from the Forces in Mind Trust, a £35 million funding scheme delivered using an endowment awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

The event opened with a warm welcome from Phil Dent, Director of the SCiP Alliance, who introduced the central theme of the evening: Evidence, Action, Change.

A National Hub for Evidence and Evaluation

Dr Liam Satchell, Director of the Impact Centre, presented the vision and purpose of the new Centre. He outlined how the Impact Centre will help the sector understand ‘what works’, how to generate stronger evidence from practice, and identifying where evidence is needed. He outlined four core stakeholder groups:

• Practitioners – Identifying what works in practice and how we can evidence their best practice activities with children.
• Researchers – Connecting research to practice and steering novel work in the sector to practical demands
• Policy Makers – Collaboratively providing support with using evidence for policy and identifying the types of evidence required to inform effective policy.
• Funders – Helping evaluation of funded projects and funders’ work to understand return on investment and tracking long-term impact.

Dr Satchell introduced a rigorous, ground-up approach to evaluation that includes evidence-informed planning, meaningful data capture, strong analysis, and clear outcome sharing, emphasising learning from successes and failures.

Equipping the Sector

The Impact Centre will operate through two main strands:

1.The Equipping Programme, offering:

• Quick-access online evidence resources and webinars
• Training on data, evaluation, and evidence use
• Bespoke organisational support
• The Impact Fellows programme, supporting practice-oriented researcher development

2. System Projects, including:

• A FiMT-funded evidence needs analysis (2026–27)
• A sector-wide research strategy (2026–27)
• Policy advice and organisational project support
• Production of evidence summaries for sector-wide use

These initiatives position the Centre as a go-to resource for mobilising evidence and enabling decision-making rooted in data.

Early Progress and What’s Next

Since July 2025, the Centre has already delivered evaluation frameworks, data appraisals, and school-based evaluation enhancements. The first Impact Fellow cohorts ae also in development. The Equipping Programme and evidence communication materials are set to launch soon. The consultation for the Evidence Needs Analysis will begin shortly.

Looking ahead to 2027, the Vision is for the Impact Centre to be a reliable hub for evidence mobilisation, enabling improved decision-making and stronger outcomes for Service children across the UK.

Towards Evidence-Led Decision Making

The event also featured contributions from sector leaders, including the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Susie Hamilton and the Dales Academies Trust, Damian Chubb, who discussed their evidence needs and how rigorous evaluation supports more impactful funding, effective assessment, and better engagement with beneficiaries.

They highlighted how strengthened evaluation helps identify families most at risk, ensures resources are directed where they make the biggest difference, and supports beneficiaries to achieve long-term confidence and self-efficacy.

Closing Reflections

A final discussion invited attendees to consider their “dream relationship with research, data, and evidence,” before closing remarks were delivered by Tom McBarnet, Director of Programmes at the Forces in Mind Trust. He emphasised the importance of a collaborative, evidence-informed approach to improving outcomes for Service children.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Dr Liam Satchell, Director of the SCiP Alliance Impact Centre.