Evaluation of the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking to appoint an evaluation expert to evaluate the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme thereby contributing to the understanding of the different ways that local authorities can use existing powers and policy levers to address childhood obesity at the local level.

Childhood obesity is one of the biggest health problems this country faces. Around a fifth of children in England are overweight or obese by the time they start primary school aged five, and this rises to one third by the time they leave aged 11. The Trailblazer Programme has been designed to enable central government to learn what is already within the power of local authorities, what are the limits of these powers and what could be done to enhance their effectiveness

Our requirements are for an evaluation expert to

• provide initial and ongoing advice and support to the Trailblazer Authorities on how they can best incorporate monitoring and evaluation into the delivery of their interventions so that they can evaluate the outcomes and impact of these interventions in the best way possible

• undertake a process evaluation of the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme that tracks the progress and experiences of the 5 Trailblazer authorities over time, the support provided to them, problems encountered and how they were resolved and draws on their local evaluations to assess outcomes and highlight learning

• draw on the evidence collected by the Trailblazer Local Authorities for their own monitoring and local evaluations to, assess their achievements against their objectives, establish whether they have tested their chosen policy levers fully, and identify what has been learnt as a result

• produce a final report which brings together evidence and insights from the above and draws out what the evidence says on possible further action