The HPW programme received significant third-party funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) of £1.5 million, which was match funded so the total intended investment for the programme was £3million. Harlow Consulting was commissioned to undertake an end-point evaluation as the programme was coming to a conclusion.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Our approach included desk-based review and assessment of Management Information (MI) data, and an in-depth workshop with the HPW programme team, to gain a detailed understanding of the programme, its wider context, performance against targets, marketing, processes and governance, referral protocols, key stakeholders, contract management and general intelligence.  

We undertook an online survey of participants about their experiences and circumstances pre- and post-programme, in particular, their skills, confidence and other impacts of the training for them as individuals; business owners were asked about the impacts for their organisation as a whole. We calculated overall Return on Investment (ROI), assessed case study evidence, and undertook depth interviews with a sample of customers (business owners and their employees) and regional stakeholders. The final report summarised key findings and made recommendations including improvements to processes and strategic direction for investment into future skills training programmes.