Project Oracle empowers the youth sector to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people. We support the youth sector to produce, use and share high-quality evidence so that together we can make better decisions to improve how interventions are funded and delivered.

We support youth organisations to measure and track their outcomes, so they can understand what they are doing well and what could be improved in order to develop and refine their projects. We simultaneously boost the ability of funders and commissioners to process and use this knowledge, so that public money can be spent on the most promising interventions. Academics and evaluation experts play a part in this by helping to ensure that evidence is of a high quality. All of this comes together to form an Evidence Hub: a dynamic community where each part contributes to – and gains from – the whole.

The Project Oracle Standards of Evidence enable everyone in the community to access and understand good evidence through a journey of five steps. They describe what constitutes good evidence, reflecting how an organisation is currently gathering and using evidence, and identifying how they might improve over time. Not every project will want, need or be able to move through all five standards, but each one can and should aim for Standard 3. Youth organisations gain access to specialist support when they submit for validation against any of the Standards.

By encouraging a standardised approach, they meet the needs of both youth organisations and funders, helping each to navigate the conversation around evidence and set realistic expectations. Click here to find out more about the Project Oracle Standards of Evidence.

“Project Oracle’s Standards of Evidence have helped institute consistency” - Caroline Boswell, Greater London Authority

Projects are validated against each Standard and shared on our website, building an open hub of independently assessed information available here. Projects can be searched according to theme (i.e. arts or crime or education), forming a picture of organisations working in those areas to a high standard of evidence.

The Standards cannot stand on their own. To be truly useful, they need to be accompanied by the necessary knowledge, skill and judgement to apply them effectively. We provide wraparound services to support youth organisations and funders along the journey to better evidence. 

For youth organisations, this includes: full-day and half-day training in evaluation techniques; placing a researcher within your organisation to boost your evaluation capacity; providing specialist advice as you progress towards validation against Standards of Evidence; and bringing together a cohort of organisations facing similar challenges to you for the chance to co-produce effective and engaging solutions.

For funders and commissioners, it includes: a seminar series and peer network designed to embed evidence at every stage in your commissioning process; and bespoke advice to shape the way in which evaluation and evidence are used to inform your commissioning strategies and processes.

“Project Oracle know what it means to have good evidence, and they share it in a supportive and down to earth way” - Sarah Wallbank, Yes Futures

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