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evaluation

Evaluation of Financial Capability Project Sheffield

Evidence type: Evaluation i

Description of the programme:

The Sheffield Financial Capability project formed part of a wider strategy to address financial exclusion across South Yorkshire, and was funded by the Lloyds TSB Foundation (formerly HBOS Foundation). The project ran from 2008- 2011 and was implemented by Financial Inclusion Services (Yorkshire) Ltd (FISY). The funding (£200k over three years) paid for financial capability development workers, (one worker in year one, and two workers in years two and three). The development workers delivered mainly group sessions in community settings, to help people at risk of financial exclusion improve their financial capability (one-to-one support was also available if required). One-off sessions were held on basic money management, and personal finance was covered in more detail over several weeks. All the courses were delivered free of charge at community venues and tailored to the needs of the client group. The project was overseen by a steering group including representatives of Lloyds TSB Foundation, Sheffield Homes, the Debt Support Unit and FISY. The total number of participants is unspecified, but the project exceeded most of its targets, and ran more than 2,683 group sessions.

The study:

The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University was contracted by FISY to evaluate the project from January 2010 to May 2011. The evaluation aimed to explore the development and implementation of the project, and the potential transfer of learning to other settings.

Primarily a process evaluation, the study used a mixed-method approach, including:

  • Interviews with project workers, partner agencies and participants;
  • Review and analysis of project documentation and monitoring data including course evaluation sheets; and
  • Observation of financial capability sessions.

The report includes some qualitative reflections on participant outcomes.

Key findings:

The study identifies the following key findings:

The project exceeded most of it targets:

  • 2,683 financial capability sessions were delivered against a target of 2,022;
  • 933 new groups were supported compared to a target of 801;
  • 1,101 participants expressed a desire to open a basic bank account compared to a target of 800; and
  • 2,018 participants started a relationship with Sheffield Credit Union, exceeding the target of 2,000.

However, the project narrowly missed its target concerning the numbers of participants referred for debt and money advice (735 against a target of 800).

The evaluation highlighted difficulties around evidencing tangible outcomes: whilst it was clear participants gained new knowledge and skills, longer term tracking would be required to demonstrate behaviour change.

The evaluation identified several factors leading to the successful delivery of the financial capability sessions:

  • The flexibility to adapt sessions and resources to meet the needs of different groups. This ensured content was engaging and relevant. Content was tailored for groups with learning disabilities, low literacy and numeracy levels, and other groups with special needs such as those with hearing difficulties.
  • **Aligning the sessions with other topics of interest to participants.**
  • Providing a mix of one-to-one and group sessions to meet the needs of different individuals and groups.
  • Partnership working enabled the sessions to reach a large client base. Alignment with housing, employment, debt and money advice services was therefore central to the project’s success.

The evaluation identified learning in response to delivery challenges; particularly concerning the engagement and retention of participants:

  • The ability of frontline staff to ‘sell’ financial capability to clients. This is essential to maintain attendance. Interaction between development workers and frontline staff in agencies is crucial to ensure frontline workers understand and buy into the project and are able to convey the benefits to potential participants.
  • Integrating financial capability into other provision. Attendance was most consistent where the project was incorporated into other programmes as a mandatory element.

The evaluation suggests the project achieved a legacy, as following the project many partner agencies increased the priority they place on financial capability and are using learning resources and materials developed by the project.

Points to consider:

Methodological limitations:

  • Qualitative feedback from participants was positive. However, this was based on a small number of responses. The evaluation was unable to assess the longer term impact of the project on the financial attitudes or behaviour of participants. Longitudinal tracking of participants would be required to measure longer term behavioural and attitudinal change. The evaluation was also unable to quantify the additional benefits for participants, compared to those who had received only debt support services.

Generalisability/ transferability:

  • The total number of participants is not specified in the evaluation report. This limits the extent to which the findings can be used as the basis for considering transferring the approach to other contexts.
  • The evaluation was too small in scale for inferences to be made to the wider population, and therefore caution should be used in generalising from the results.

Key info

Activities and setting
Financial capability sessions in community settings on money management and personal finance, targeting those at risk of financial exclusion.
Programme delivered by
Financial Inclusion Services (Yorkshire) Ltd (FISY).
Year of publication
2011
Country/Countries
England
Contact information

Jan Gilbertson and Sarah Pearson, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), Sheffield Hallam University