RFI - Evaluation of the Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer Areas

The Department for Communities and Local Government, seeks to offer and receive information relating to the potential procurement of research services on a homelessness prevention programme – the Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer Areas.

The Authority has committed a £20m Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer fund running in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to establish a network of ambitious local authority areas across England. These will work with single people and families to prevent them becoming homeless as early as possible.

The fund will provide Trailblazer Areas with resource funding to ramp up prevention and to develop and implement innovative approaches to homelessness prevention, utilising the assistance of other local partners. Trailblazer Areas will fundamentally reform their services in terms of how they respond to homelessness.

In order to evaluate the prevention Trailblazer Areas, the Authority will gather case-level data on all homeless or potentially homeless clients that come into contact with the local authority. This is to be implemented in both Trailblazer and comparator areas (prevention activities as usual) whilst testing a new data collection system to explore options around improving the Authority’s homelessness data.

The objectives of this requirement are: To provide a robust evidence base on what works to prevent homelessness (e.g. in terms of retaining/ securing accommodation), with whom and in what circumstances - teasing out the key features of the prevention activity critical to success.

-To gather evidence of good practice to be disseminated to practitioners (to be overseen by wider steering group, including an Expert Panel and ultimately published on a new website that will act as a central repository for best practice);

-To provide an evidence-based understanding of the best way to introduce the Prevention Duty in England especially in terms of which prevention activities are most effective.