A research team consisting of staff from the Policy Research Bureau and the Tavistock Institute – funded by the then Department for Education and Skills – undertake a national evaluation of the Parenting Fund.

The evaluation measures the extent to which the Fund is successful in: developing a strategic approach to provision; strengthening the voluntary sector infrastructure; and increasing parenting provision, specifically by filling gaps in the availability of parenting support and improving access for and take-up by groups not currently well served. As such it will concentrate on process, outputs and short-to-medium term outcomes rather than on longer term outcomes such as improvements in parenting skills or improvements in child behaviour.