Alumni engagement and philanthropy



ACADEMIC APPOINTED TO GOVERNMENT WHAT WORKS TRIAL ADVICE PANEL  Dr Sarah Miller in cloisters

20 February 2020

Queen’s academic, Dr Sarah Miller has been appointed to the What Works Trial Advice Panel (TAP) to improve the quality and quantity of impact evaluation across central government in the UK.

Comprising around 50 experts from outside government (mostly academia) and the Civil Service, the Panel provides free advice to policy teams and analysts considering the design of an impact evaluation, from helping with power calculations to advising on appropriate quasi-experimental approaches.

TAP also provides training to civil servants on the benefits and technicalities of impact evaluations.

Dr Miller, who is the director of Campbell UK & Ireland; a fellow of the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation and a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s, joins the Panel as part of a refresh of the membership.

Speaking about her new role, Dr Miller said: “I am delighted to take up this position and be given the opportunity to help inform the quality and rigour of research undertaken by the government.

“Generating and using high quality evidence is essential to implementing processes and programmes that are effective and impactful.”

The appointment is for two years, commencing 20 February 2020. 

The What Works Network was launched in 2013 aiming to ensure that spending and practice in public services is informed by the best available evidence.

Since its launch in 2015 the Panel has advised on 72 projects across 24 departments and public bodies, spanning a range of policy areas including energy, adult social care, housing, and family services. 

It offers technical support and champions the use of experimental and quasi-experimental methods as the best way to find out which policies and interventions work, for whom, and in what context. In the past two years TAP has supported projects across 18 departments and public bodies.

Examples of projects supported by the Panel to date include:

  • Tax: A large-scale randomised controlled trials (RCT) run by HMRC that tested different versions of email and SMS messages designed to increase on-time filing and payment by self-assessment customers.
  • End-of-life care: A small-scale RCT commissioned by the Cabinet Office’s Centre for Social Action that looked at the impact of community-based befriending services on the quality of life of people receiving end-of-life care.
  • Transport: A large-scale RCT run by the Department for Transport to test a range of communication-based behavioural interventions designed to encourage learner drivers to spend more time practising before taking a driving test.

For more information and examples of TAP's work, read the three year update report and check out this blog post from one of the existing academic members.

Get in touch with TAP directly by email if you have any questions or would like to know more.

Media enquiries to Zara McBrearty at Queen's Communications Office on telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 3259.

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