evaluation
Evidence type: Evaluation i
Information about the programme design and rationale
Evidence about Financial Capability outcomes for programme participants
Evidence that the Financial Capability outcomes were caused by the programme
Evidence about programme implementation, feasibility, and piloting
Evidence about relative costs and benefits of the programme
The Money and Pensions Service designed the CYP Financial Education Innovation and Evaluation Programme to support delivery of the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, by evaluating new and innovative, or existing but untested, financial education interventions. By doing this, the programme aimed to fill gaps in the understanding of effective financial education, in turn supporting the delivery of one of the Strategy’s five National Goals: to ensure that two million more CYP receive a meaningful financial education by 2030. The programme focused on three priority areas: children under the age of seven years, CYP in vulnerable circumstances, and digital delivery of financial education.
The programme was commissioned, delivered and evaluated between October 2020 and September 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The achievements of the seven pilot projects that took part in the programme need to be understood in this context, with over 10,000 CYP; 354 teachers and other practitioners; 145 schools; and 141 parents/carers engaged in financial education activities over the course of the programme.
The seven pilot projects were evaluated individually, as well as the evaluation findings from all pilots being combined in a programme-level synthesis report.
While the pilot projects used different indicators to measure change, the high-level outcomes in the programme Theory of Change provided a framework by which to analyse the data from individual projects and understand the impact of the overall programme.
In synthesising the evidence, a realist approach was taken to identify what works, for whom, why, how and in what contexts.
The seven pilots were evaluated individually, providing indicative and promising evidence that informed the achievement or otherwise of high-level outcomes in a programme-wide theory of change:
What works:
Looking across the seven pilots, the evaluation synthesised evidence about how the projects worked, for whom and why – identifying four particular learnings:
Children and Young People Financial Education Innovation and Evaluation Programme:Synthesis Report
Ecorys UK and the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol