Vital Communities

Review and analysis of the research

Michael Hallsworth, Ruth Levitt, Joachim Krapels

ResearchPublished Jul 2, 2008

This report presents RAND Europe's analysis of data generated by the Vital Communities programme between October 2005 and August 2007. The Vital Communities programme provides creative and artistic activities for children, their families, and wider communities in nine locations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. RAND Europe was asked to evaluate the available evidence and data from a rigorous and analytical point of view in order to examine the effects attributable to the Vital Communities programme. Furthermore, RAND Europe provided recommendations on how best to take forward the research element of Vital Communities. The study has been conducted retrospectively, as no new primary research was conducted, and thus the report relies instead on the considerable qualitative data generated by the programme and on an existing quantitative research study. Future recommendations highlighted a need to (1) expand the baseline analysis, (2) move from causal relations to associations, and (3) adopt effective data collection methods and ensure the cooperation of research participants.

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Hallsworth, Michael, Ruth Levitt, and Joachim Krapels, Vital Communities: Review and analysis of the research. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR549.html.
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The research described in this report was commissioned by the Vital Communities Partners and was conducted by RAND Europe.

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