Learn more about the latest IES research projects
Featured
IES are partnering with the Trussell Trust on new research to understand how employment support and Universal Credit conditionality can better meet the needs of people facing complex barriers to work.
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This research aim to provide evidence on what does and does not work in leadership and career progression programmes aimed at increasing diversity in senior leadership of large firms and in-house teams. The aim is to identify barriers, effective features, gaps in current practices, and evidence of impact to support the design, improvement or implementation of such programmes.
Starting with a multi-stage desk-based approach using AI tools to map available careers guidance for adults in work in England, this research looks to identify a viable pilot intervention for the delivery of guidance to adults in work. This will include a deep dive of locally available guidance to highlight what can work. Finally, support will be given to help Gatsby host roundtable discussions including providing a summary of findings.
WECA design for its Youth Guarantee Trailblazer is tailored to the region’s specific needs, spanning system-level leadership (e.g. skills, support and employment system mapping) to targeted cohort support (e.g. rural access transport subsidies and SEND work placements).
A literature review followed by qualitative interviews with 20 older workers, to inform policy and employer guidance on encouraging and supporting older workers to continue working up to and beyond state pension age.
IES and Social Finance are delivering an independent evaluation and learning programme for the York and North Yorkshire Economic Inactivity Trailblazer. The project will aim to identify what works in supporting economically individuals, by reviewing delivery models and bespoke pilots. The project integrates mixed methods impact and process evaluation with a learning community that will create bespoke theories of change and case study outputs. Case studies and stakeholder interviews will contribute to recommendations to strengthen regional plans for future scale up.
IES, in partnership with Verian, are conducting a Feasibility Study of a planned Randomised Controlled Trial (“trial”) with Workwhile on behalf of Youth Futures Foundation (YFF). The trial would evaluate Workwhile’s DevelopMentor programme with the line managers of disadvantaged apprentices within Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). This is the fifth commission within YFF’s Employer Trials programme of work.
Recent quantitative research undertaken by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Engineering UK identified that women were more likely than men to leave engineering at the mid-career stage. This qualitative study commissioned by the Academy aims to better understand the issues affecting women’s retention in engineering and opportunities to improve their retention, with a particular focus on how identity and intersecting characteristics impact women throughout their careers. The study includes career narrative interviews with up to 30 women, non-binary and gender-nonconforming individuals in their mid-career who are/were working in engineering roles. It will be supported by a short literature review and two workshops with expert stakeholders.
Data analysis to support the evaluation of Sutton Trust's main outreach programmes - UK Summer Schools and Pathways to the Professions. It involved analysis of ST applicant data to identify matched comparator groups of unsuccessful applicants to the programmes to support the analysis of UCAS Outreach Evaluation data on university applications, and analysis of HESA student data on successful participants and unsuccessful applicants to explore difference in HE access and success.
We are providing subject area expertise and interviewing research resource to assist a qualitative project. The project aims to understand employer practices in dismissals and fire and rehire, and their understanding of, approach to and views of planned changes in the UK legislation on unfair dismissal and fire and rehire.
Labour market analysis support for West London Alliance/West London Business for the renewal of their Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), providing an update to the labour market analysis work of a few years ago in support of the original development of the LSIP. The work will focus on priority sectors in the West London labour market.
The phase 2 evaluation of DBT's Help to Grow: Management programme follows on from the 4-year phase 1 evaluation that ran until 2025. For phase 2, IES will continue to be subcontracted by Ipsos to lead the qualitative strand of the evaluation. The IPE will run until December 2026 with a possible extension to 31 December 2029, and involves interviews with around 55 stakeholders (e.g. programme participants, mentors and business schools) each year which feed into annual reports.
