Matrix Insight

We operate across a number of disciplines. Click on the titles below the ‘Our Expertise’ heading in the diagram to jump to the appropriate section on this page.

For sector specific experience and expertise, please click here.

Policy formulation/Programme design

We have a combined experience of working across different sectors, countries and EU institutions evaluating policies, programmes, and practices in collaboration with practitioners, policy makers, researchers and citizens over many years. This experience helps balance methodological rigour with the real-life constraints and pressures faced by Member States, policy makers and evaluators to provide stakeholders with insight when they need it. This has involved undertaking evidence reviews for the formulation of entirely new policies or programmes based on best available evidence from around the world or undertaking empirical, fact-finding studies to collect entirely new evidence. This had included several fact-finding studies for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice, Security and Home Affairs which have fed into policies in the area of terrorist financing and a study on drug precursors for the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs which has informed EU-China policy.

Organisational review/strategy development

An executable strategy is the cornerstone of every successful organisation. Defining a vision, setting the pace of change, reviewing strategic objectives and forward plans, form part of the management imperative in complex and constantly changing environments. We typically help public sector organisations turn their challenges into opportunities to enhance their organisation’s strategy, performance, visibility and accountability to stakeholders. Using strategy development and organisational review techniques taking into account the political, organisational, and budgetary constraints we devise actionable strategies and organisational recommendations for the benefit of end-users of public services and all stakeholders.

Matrix has helped many decentralised agencies of the European Commission and membership organisations to develop and review their strategies and organisational capabilities. This has included an organisational evaluation of the European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety (2008) and an evaluation of all EU de-centralised agencies (2009) for the Secretariat General of the European Commission.

Impact assessment

We have particular expertise in the provision of impact assessment services for European Institutions using cutting-edge modelling and analytical tools to analyse cross-border implications of public policy. As such, we are familiar with, and apply, Impact Assessment guidelines at European and Member State level. In designing Impact Assessments, our approach is always to:

• thoroughly understand our client’s and/or other stakeholder needs and objectives;
• conceptualise models for matching these needs and objectives;
• explore desirable and feasible modes of enquiry (e.g. participatory, experimental) given the available time and budget; and
• use appropriate methods for collection and analysis of data to produce robust answers to the main research questions in each impact assessment.

Evaluation

Programme and initiative evaluation is one of our core businesses – having undertaken many dozens of evaluations, and having substantial experience of undertaking complex, multi-country, multi-disciplinary evaluation of policies, programmes and interventions for European Institutions and Member State public bodies alike. We are well-versed in European and Member State guidelines on evaluation and are an active corporate member of the UK Evaluation Society. Senior staff members within our team are also members of the European Evaluation Society. Our senior team regularly presents at conferences and seminars and runs training sessions with our clients on evaluation.

Matrix has undertaken many ex post programme evaluations for European Institutions including several evaluations of sub-programmes of the 5th and 6th Framework Programmes for Research and Development including an evaluation of the ERA-NET scheme under FP6, EU support actions to Research Infrastructures under FP6, and an evaluation of the EVIMP2 programme (part of the Growth Programme) under FP5. We also regularly undertake evaluations of policies and directives including an evaluation of the Victim’s compensation directive for DG JLS and policies for asset recover in the EU27 for DG JLS.

Matrix is preferred provider of evaluation services on six Framework Contracts for evaluation with the Commission: two with DG Budget and four with DG Employment.

Value for Money studies

We offer a full range of services to assess the value for money of public interventions and investments, including cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). A CBA quantifies in monetary terms as many of the costs and benefits of a proposal as feasible, including items for which the market does not provide a satisfactory measure of economic value. In comparison, a CEA compares the costs of alternative ways of producing the same or similar outputs.

For both CBA and CEA, we usually adopt a three-step approach:

• identifying information about the benefits of proposed interventions;
• revealing potentially cost-effective alternatives; and
• showing how benefits and costs are distributed (e.g., geographically, or temporally).

In addition to simple CBAs, our team of in-house economists has particular experience in policy sectors (e.g. public health) that are characterised by ALARP (“as low as reasonably practicable”) and the valuation and measurement of both use and non-use costs and benefits.

Comparative studies

Comparative studies are undertaken in order to compare and maximise performance. Our approach to comparisons is data-driven to ensure that indicators against which the performance of one or several organisations benchmarked are ‘SMART’, that is – they measure the right things using tangible data. Whilst using SMART indicators is considered good practice, ensuring comparability of the chosen indicators is equally important. This is why we take extra care in selecting comparators. Our approach also includes qualitative components to tailor our recommendations and provide an accurate perspective on the performance of operations.

Matrix has helped the European Commission and Member states to measure and take stock of their operational performance. This has included a study on net remuneration of EC officials’ vis-à-vis staff in international organisations, EU27 permanent representations, EU27 national civil services, and the private sector for DG ADMIN.

Prospective studies

Prospective studies are usually undertaken when the existing evidence-base is relatively weak, for instance in the case of an entirely new intervention, or when modelling future impact is necessary to underpin investment decisions. We undertake a full range of prospective studies including feasibility studies, foresight and scenario development and needs forecasting.

Scoping & consensus building are in important part in many prospective studies and we have extensive experience with stakeholder mapping, needs assessment through focus groups, identification of stakeholder priorities and consensus building through Delphi surveys.

Our feasibility studies usually follow a three-pronged approach including:

• literature reviews or rapid evidence assessments to analyse the internal and external coherence of the activity;
• triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data to ensure comprehensive analysis, and robust findings that are rooted in a thorough contextual understanding; and
• clear identification of modelling assumptions, acknowledgment of the impact of external factors on the success of the intervention and sensitivity analysis.

This analysis is driven by the development of a logic or model of proposed impact.

Policy/Programme Monitoring

Surveillance and monitoring of existing policies and programmes through the collection and analysis of existing evidence is key to ensure that policies and programmes fulfil their intended objectives. Our methods and tools enable our client to spot trends and / or changes in circumstances or environment. We rely on powerful and easily deployable technology applications compatible with legacy IT infrastructures that can collect a wealth of complex data and present them in simple graphical and interactive interfaces.

Matrix is helping several organisations in Member States to monitor their policy and programmes. This has included:

• Online tool to allow longitudinal monitoring and assessment of 12 interventions aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable groups;
• Online benchmarking tool to allow social housing providers in the UK to compare cost between themselves in order to improve Value for Money;
• Providing Police forces in the UK with a collaborative, web-enabled tool to ensure that best practice is disseminated between operational officers;
• Online, secure management of probation data related to allow probation officers in the UK undertake better risk assessment and monitoring.

More examples of the products and services available can be found on the Matrix Decision’s website.