The deadline for applications is 31 January 2024.
The Evidence for Impact Working Group (E4I) was established under the Transforming Children’s Care Collaborative to foster a strategic and well-coordinated approach to research and data in the sector, with a focus on generating and applying ‘evidence for impact’ on policy, systems and practice globally.
One of the objectives of the E4I WG is to “strengthen the common understanding and positioning on evidence”. Relatedly, among the guiding principles of the WG is promoting ‘independent and objective’ evidence.
To address the question of 'What is evidence for impact?', a paper is being developed by the convenors of the WG to propose a common understanding and approach that can underpin and support the development, and use of, evidence by actors in the sector working to strengthen care systems for children, including through deinstitutionalisation efforts.
Two of the central questions for the E4I theme on de-institutionalization (DI) are: What should count as ‘evidence’? And how should evidence be presented in order to have ‘impact’?
To support this work, two of the E4I convenors (Marinus van IJzendoorn, Professor at University College London, and Marian Bakermans-Kranenbrug, Professor at ISPA Lisbon, Portugal) are planning to conduct a pilot study to develop a coding system for analysing empirical reports on de-institutionalization published in the past 5 years.
A preliminary search and analysis of papers in Web of Science showed some interesting results, and the current study should systematize and extend the literature search, produce a reliable coding system for type, quality and outcomes of the primary studies on DI, and describe the set of studies in terms of robust findings, gaps in our knowledge on DI, and suggestions for future studies to fill the gaps.
The E4I convenors are looking for an advanced graduate student with solid training in methods and statistics in the behavioral sciences, preferably with some experience in systematic (narrative or meta-analytic) reviews. This work could be done as part of a practicum or as part of a thesis on the topic of DI.
The project is expected to start in January 2024 and will be supervised by Marinus van IJzendoorn and Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg. Based on experiences with the preliminary exploration of available literature, the convenors expect this project to take about 3- 6 months. Interim reports are expected after the first month, halfway through the process, and the study should be finalized with a written report to the E4I working group.
A financial stipend will be provided to the research assistant to undertake this work as part of an internship.
If you are interested to apply, please send a resume together with a short cover letter highlighting your interest in doing this work, your relevant experience and qualification as well as time availability to do so to:
Florence Martin, Executive Director, Better Care Network, at florence.martin@bettercarenetwork.org
