You are invited to join a ‘user panel’ for the Labour Market Evidence Programme. This work, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is being delivered by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and Learning and Work Institute (L&W).
What is the purpose of the project?
The DWP is establishing an independent Labour Market What Works Centre (LMWWC) which will champion and promote evidence usage and generation to produce improved labour market outcomes, with a particular focus on local impact. This is in response to the government’s commitment to supporting individuals into employment with the recognition there is a strategic gap in the evidence available to local policymakers.
The aim of this project is to deliver evidence reviews and practical resources designed to support policymakers within local government to better understand what works in supporting improved labour market outcomes for out-of-work and in-work individuals.
What is the role of the user panel?
User panels will help ensure the findings and recommendations generated through this programme of work are relevant and practical, and to ensure findings are disseminated in accessible and engaging ways. The Labour Market Evidence Programme will convene user panels for each evidence review conducted. If you are happy to join a user panel, we will invite you to select a theme you find most interesting/useful to offer guidance on.
Engagement with members of the user panel will be through a combination of online user panel workshops and email correspondence. We will also invite you to review summaries and outputs to guide the clarity of messages presented. We anticipate a commitment of around 3.5 hours between April and December 2026.
An overview of how you would be engaged on a user panel is outlined below.
Overview of user panel meeting 1 – Online, 45-minutes:
- Introduction to the user panel
- Overview of the theme being explored
- Hear your priorities within the theme being explored
Overview of user panel meeting 2 – Online, 45-minutes:
- Discuss emerging findings from the ongoing review
- Explore the implications of the findings
- Discuss early recommendations
Overview of user panel meeting 3 – Online, 30-minutes:
- Hear your views on how the findings should be disseminated
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Taking part in a user panel will give you the opportunity to shape the direction of this programme of work, as well as the future Labour Market What Works Centre (LMWWC). You will be able to influence how research outputs are communicated, are made easy to use, and support you to make change.
User panels will provide a space for networking with other panel members, enabling collaboration and peer learning opportunities. Engagement will also offer you early insight into the research findings, informing your ongoing work.
Are there any risks or disadvantages to taking part?
The information you provide will be used for project purposes only, and we won’t share your views within any outputs. To reflect your input into this work we will offer you acknowledgement in published outputs. This can be attributed to yourself and/or your organisation. We understand that individuals and organisations will hold different views on whether they would like to be named, and we are happy to accommodate your preferences. We will not name you or your organisation in any outputs without your consent. Further information is included in this privacy notice.
User panel meetings will be recorded to enable further analysis. The recording will be uploaded onto our secure sever and deleted three months after the project ends in April 2027. Any information you provide will be held in the strictest confidence and will be handled securely throughout the project in line with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Only the project team will have access to the recordings. You can change your mind and withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.
More information about how your data will be used can be found in the privacy notice linked above.
Who can I contact if I want to take part, or I have questions?
If you would like to take part in this consultation, or have questions that you would like us to answer to help you to decide, please contact us: [email protected]