Key Themes

• Education
• Children, Young People and Families
• Learning and Skills (16+)
• Culture & Sport
• Heritage
• eGovernment
• Citizenship

Services & Products

We provide custom designed research and evaluation solutions involving quantitative and qualitative methodologies. We can help you disseminate and share learning, making the research work for you.

We offer the following range of services:

• Qualitative research; interviews, focus groups, case studies, participant observation
• Quantitative research; telephone, face to face or web surveys, primary and secondary data analysis, economic analysis and modelling
• Peer research and involvement
• Communities and stakeholder consultation
• Process and impact evaluations at a project or programme level
• Identifying promising or effective practice
• Reporting, disseminating and sharing learning
• Measurement of employer responsiveness
  
  

Products range from traditional research reports, through to toolkits or handbooks, interactive materials, websites and newsletters.

Case Studies

Quality Assurance of International Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses
Client: European Commission, DG Education and Culture.

We have carried out an in-depth study of the effectiveness of 21 Erasmus Mundus Master Courses using an innovative participatory methodology to identify good practice which which is formalised in a handbook and an online self-assessment resource (emqa.eu) with the purpose of supporting and improving the quality of the organisation and implementation of highly integrated master courses and thus their effectiveness.  The resource has enabled all Erasmus Mundus courses to identify themselves where to focus on quality improvements.

World Class Skills Developing Responsive Provision
Client: Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)

Ecorys managed this large scale, multi-annual evaluation of LSIS’s programme to support providers in delivering employer responsive provision. The evaluation assessed the impact of the programme on providers and their employer facing provision and explored the extent to which it supported them in meeting employers’ needs. This study informed the development of the Ecorys toolkit for measuring employer responsiveness, the Employer Responsive Evaluation Model (EREM).

Participating of Young People in Local Authority Decision Making in Wales
Client: Welsh Assembly Government

We evaluated the effectiveness of involving young people in local authority decision making across Wales, involving young people actively in the research process and highlighting good practice for practitioners going forward. This involved a secure online network and series of young people's focus groups. 

Olympic Strategy Links in Brent and West London
Client: London Borough of Brent

Ecorys researched the ‘Olympic Effect’ for Brent and the wider West London area. The research ensured that Brent's Olympics aims were appropriate and that partnerships and synergies were maximised. Ecorys provided Brent with a clear and evidenced way forward - operationally and strategically - to support the authority in accessing maximum benefit from the Games.

Children and Young People's Participation in Planning and Regeneration
Client: Ecorys Research Programme 

Ecorys recently completed a review of children's particiaption in shaping places and spaces in the UK and overseas. The study was carried out in partnership with the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University, and comprised a literature review, policy analysis, and stakeholder consultations. The final report underlines the relative lack of emphasis on spatial aspects of children's wellbeing in the UK, and the priority to strengthen the evidence base in this field. It identifies some key messages for Localism and the Big Society agenda, and proposes a number of themes to extend current debates around 'youth citizenship'.

Contacts