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Impact and evaluation 

Find out what we have learned about Q’s impact so far, and how we evaluate our work.

To be accountable to our partners and members, Q is committed to monitoring and understanding its impact to inform the ongoing development of our offers and services.

Evidence and impact

Q is an evidence-led initiative beginning its journey following the Berwick review (2013) and the Health Foundation’s subsequent research into effective networks (2014). Since its formal establishment in 2015, Q has rapidly grown, facilitating connections, idea sharing, skill development, and collaborative improvement work across the UK and Ireland. As an evidence-based initiative, independent evaluations, including one by RAND Europe from 2016 to 2020, have demonstrated Q’s success in engaging and inspiring members, promoting good practice, and enhancing the profile of health and care improvement. At the same time, they deemed Q an underutilized utilized asset, with its full potential impact yet to be realised.

Independent Evaluation of Q, 2023

We continue to invest in high-quality evaluation to guide Q’s ambitious growth through internal and external evaluations. We are now undertaking a two-year independent evaluation commissioned by Picker to assess Q’s impact on members, their improvement work, and the broader health and care systems. This ongoing evaluation aims to delve into the impact created by Q and devise effective measures to gauge success. Through this process, we seek to understand how our valued members can maximize the benefits of Q’s diverse offerings, facilitating seamless sharing, collaboration, learning, support, and connection within our vibrant community.
Together, we are committed to driving positive change and fostering a thriving innovation and knowledge exchange network.

Theory of Change

This theory of change sets out the core elements of what Q is trying to achieve, and how.

Evaluation archive

Independent evaluation of Q, 2020

These reports by RAND Europe evaluate initiative from 2016-2020, outlining key findings and recommendations for Q to support the contribution of improvers to health and care.

The journey so far, 2018

This report shares the Health Foundation and NHS Improvement’s progress and learning from developing the Q initiative.

Building Q, 2016

This report shares learning from designing a large-scale improvement community – looking at the first year of the Q initiative and the extensive co-design process used to create it.

Learn with us

If you want to learn more about Q’s evaluation, please get in touch with Matthew Hill, Head of Insight, Evaluation and Research.

If you want to connect with other improvers on evaluation more generally, join Q’s Evaluation Special Interest Group.