Evaluation of Life, Money, Action! for Money Advice Service - What Work’s Fund

1. Description of the programme
2. The study
3. Key findings
4. Points to consider

• Description of the programme
• The study
• Key findings
• Points to consider
• Full report

Description of the programme

[This is an extract from the Executive Summary of the evaluation report. Further amendments may be made to this Summary, pending review by the Evidence Hub partner]

Life, Money, Action! (LMA) is the latest financial capability education programme developed by the National Skills Academy for Financial Services. LMA is aimed at supporting youth practitioners to develop the financial capability of the young people they work with. It comprises two days training, a written assignment and, on passing this, an accredited qualification at Level 2, alongside online resources aimed at youth practitioners and young people. The co-creation of course materials and resources with youth practitioners and young people has been key to the design of the LMA.

The study

This is an outcome and process evaluation, testing the extent to which co-creation improves the skills, knowledge and confidence of youth practitioners to deliver financial capability support and the impact this has on a young person’s financial capability. It has included before, after and follow up surveys and interviews with practitioners and assessments of young people they have worked with.

Key findings

The core research question for this evaluation is: “To what extent do financial capability resources and accredited training for youth practitioners, co-created with young adults and youth practitioners, help support young people to manage their finances and make effective financial decisions at key transition points, such as starting work or living independently?”

• Process findings:
  • LMA reached its target of recruiting 200 practitioners to its courses, of which 167 achieved qualifications, and 157 produced assessments for young people they supported following the training.
  • Practitioners have valued LMA and recognise the impact of it having been co-created with practitioners and young people on their own confidence and practice.
  • LMA has made the greatest difference in the confidence of youth practitioners to deliver financial capability support and enabled them to apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt in different contexts.
  • Although only used by less than half of practitioners, the online resources have been useful in practitioners’ work with young people and will continue to be used. These resources should be promoted further in the future.
  • Resources and materials reflecting different types of young people and the challenges they face, such as being on benefits and facing multiple transitions in a short space of time, would be useful for future courses.
• Outcome findings:
  • Building the skills, knowledge and confidence of youth practitioners to deliver financial capability support is reported by practitioners to have had a positive impact on the financial capability of the young people they work with. In post course surveys and interviews, practitioners reported that knowledge and confidence was key to enabling them to deliver information and support suited to the young person’s specific needs which improved their capability, particularly around money management.
  • Practitioners are key to providing the Money Advice Service(MAS)/What Works theme of Connection to financial products and services for young people. Practitioner support is most effective when using different tools and techniques to build young people’s Ability, based on their needs and circumstances.
  • LMA has helped practitioners improve young peoples’ Mindsets around money management. However, a young person’s planning for future life events relies on them personally being able to increase their income and/or reduce their spending as well as improve their motivation to make change.
  • Practitioners attribute positive change in young people to their own improved confidence and their ability to work with the young person over time to help them build their Ability and Mindset.

Points to consider

• The evaluation is at Level 2 of Nesta’s Standards of Evidence.
• There is a risk of selection and optimism bias in the findings. Practitioners chose which young person to assess, which may have resulted in selection bias.
• Practitioners were also asked to make judgements on their own improvement as well as that of the young person, which could have resulted in more positive recording of outcomes through optimism bias.

Full report

Evaluation of Life, Money, Action! for Money Advice Service - full report