An impact evaluation of Violence Reduction Partnership funded interventions

The Sussex Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) is one of 18 Home Office funded units across England and Wales, which were launched in 2019. The Sussex VRP operates as a 'Hub and Spoke' model, with a spoke VRP in each area of Sussex (East, West and Brighton and Hove) and a hub provided through a core Steering Group. Each spoke area is provided with funding to enable the local commissioning of interventions and projects that seek to prevent and reduce serious violence. This funding is used to facilitate a range of projects across Sussex, which are a mix of interventions with young people in schools, colleges and through detached youth work, mentoring and training for professionals and parents and more intensive work with families, communities and young people involved in serious violence. Evaluation is a mandatory element of the grant funding to all VRUs, and this year the Home Office has stated that it expects all VRUs to spend 10% of the total amount allocated to interventions on its evaluation. This baseline evaluation spend requirement is designed to ensure that the VRU is undertaking sufficient evaluation activity to actively contribute to what is known about 'what works' in tackling serious violence. As a hub and spoke model the Sussex VRP has been asked to evaluate an intervention from each spoke area.