Matrix Insight

In light of the proposed changes to the Government’s policy on prisons, Matrix’s research findings in The Economic Case For and Against Prisons report was used as a source on the BBC News on 30th June 2010. BBC Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton covers Matrix’s data in his blog.

The Evaluation of the Pathways to Work Programme for Cancer Survivors has now been launched, click here to access it.

Matrix will be sponsoring the ‘LSE PhD Student Poster Exhibition: Relating research to reality’ on Wednesday 26th May 2010. The Exhibition will showcase some of the innovative research undertaken by LSE Doctoral students.

Matrix insight have been commissioned to undertake a comparative study on best practices in forced returns monitoring for DG Justice, Liberty and Security of the European Commission
The objectives of the study are to:

• gather and compile information on the existing situation regarding monitoring of return operations in the Member States
• identify and describe best practices in the field of forced-return monitoring
• facilitate transposition of the Return Directive by supporting Member States in developing an effective and transparent monitoring system

Matrix insight have recently been awarded a Framework Contract to provide evaluation support to the Information Society and Media DG of the European Commission. The contract intends to provide a facility through which the departments can obtain evaluation related services by a swift and simple procedure. Matrix will be conducting evaluation studies of an interim and ex post nature. The contract will run over a period of 4 years with a maximum value of up to €3million.

Matrix has been commissioned to undertake an impact assessment on potential policies to improve the standing of victims of crime. The study looks into the extent of the problem across the EU, options for tackling the problem and potential costs of those options. It is a follow up of an assessment on victim compensation schemes we conducted in 2008.

Matrix is exhibiting at the 2010 Preventive Health Conference on Wednesday 30th June 2010. It will be the 3rd Annual Preventive Health Conference, the UK’s premier event for those involved in improving the nation’s health through medical prevention. Please click here to read the brochure and to find out more about the event.

Matrix Insight were commissioned to find out what responsibilities Member States should take for Asylum-Seekers. Click here to read a summary of this report.

Matrix Insight has been commissioned by the European Commission to conduct an impact assessment on the provision of information on rights and information about the charges in criminal proceedings. The current challenge is that suspected or arrested persons in the European Union are frequently not aware or made aware of their rights upon arrest, during interrogation and / or detention. The Commission’s objective is to put forward a proposal for EU legislation for strengthening the rights of the accused in criminal proceedings. In preparation of the proposal, the Commission wants to conduct an impact assessment study to inform this proposal. This study will especially look into the extent of the problem across the EU, options for tackling the problem and potential costs of those options.

Matrix Insight has recently completed a study for the European commission focussing on understanding the extent to which consumers have equal access to products and services delivered from different countries.

We found that:

• Consumers are faced with different pricing structures for the same products (with price differences of up to 15%) and with different types of services depending on where they live;
• these cross-border differences are achieved by producers limiting access to and information about prices and services available to customers residing in other countries, especially in online transactions;
• these differences are explained by:
  i) variations in the content and enforcement of national regulations across countries;
  ii) variations in the cost of supplying services internationally; and
  iii) variations in demand across countries.
• To prevent discrimination against consumers in certain countries, regulatory authorities in Europe must consider whether;
  i) pricing structures for and access to cross-border services are based on objective economic and regulatory drivers; and
  ii) the way in which producers achieve price differences online is justified.

The full report can be accessed here and you can read more about Matrix Insight’s European work here.

The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) commissioned Matrix and Kings College, London, to investigate the extent to which the current system of local regulation does not sufficiently deal with some threats to UK residents, businesses, and consumers. read more »

Matrix Knowledge Group sponsored the Transformation award at the Guardian Public Services Awards 2009. The prize was awarded to the Sheffield City Council Care4you team, find out more about the winning team here. More information on the awards can be found in our press release.

Kevin Marsh presented at the launch of the T2A Alliance Young Adult Manifesto on 25th November 2009, you can download the report here – Economic analysis of interventions for young adult offenders.

NHS leaders met in London on 19th October 2009 for a summit to discuss ways to improve race equality in health. Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the new Care Quality Commission (the NHS regulator) was keynote speaker at the Race for Health summit, which was attended by Chief Executives and Chairs of leading NHS trusts, PCTs and Strategic Health Authorities. read more »

Dr Kevin Marsh presented at the 2009 Society Conference & Meeting on October 20 and 21, 2009 at the Washington Court Hotel, Washington, D.C. His paper was titled Using Subjective Well-Being Measures to Value Policy Outcomes and you can download it here.

Matrix was commissioned by the European Commission to review the impact and effectiveness of its funding of several hundred industrial and technology projects across the EU27. The aim of the program was to support growth, innovation and global competiveness within Europe.
You can see the results of the evaluation exercise here and download the full report.

Health England and Matrix recently launched H.E.L.P (Health England Leading Prioritisation), an interactive on line tool supporting public health professionals and commissioners work in a way that is consistent with ‘World Class Commissioning’. Click here to visit the website.

The NHS Institute supports the NHS to transform healthcare for patients and the public by rapidly developing and spreading new ways of working, new technology, and world class leadership. Expert on Call gives leading thinkers from the NHS Institute and beyond the opportunity to share their experiences and answer questions from NHS staff working in service improvement.

During this session, which was held on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm, David Welbourn spoke about the concept of organisational health which can help us understand how large organisations, such as the NHS, work and how they can respond to the challenges they face.

You can listen to the recording here.

Professor Paul Dolan, Chief Scientist at Matrix Knowledge Group, co-wrote an article published in BMJ on prioritising decisions about conditions and treatments, which they argue should be based on people’s experiences rather than on what people think they might feel. You can download the article here.

Matrix was recently awarded single contractor status on the framework contract for impact assessments in the field of health economics. Specific assignments under this framework contract will involve valuing and measuring the health impact of Commission proposals, carrying out risk assessments and assessments of the impact of technological innovation on health outcomes in Europe.

Matrix North America wrote an article on the use of business intelligence to improve correctional services which has been published by BeyeNETWORK. The article compares the use of performance management metrics in the UK and US correctional systems.

Matrix wrote a case study on the inspection of the safety of imported goods for the local better regulation office which has been quoted in a government white paper – A Better Deal for Consumers: Delivering Real Help Now and Change for the Future. Matrix were commissioned to developed a risk-based cost-benefit model to identify that the UK would be better off as a whole if there is more inspection of imported goods at UK ports.

Matrix Insight Ltd was quoted in The Times Online in an article about low-level offenders based on a study commissioned by the Make Justice Work campaign on whether short-term prisons sentences are an effective and efficient use of public resources. Read the article here.

Matrix Insight Ltd was commissioned by the Make Justice Work campaign to undertake an independent assessment of whether short-term prisons sentences are an effective and efficient use of public resources. Find out more in the press release.

The European Commission, through the Directorate-General for Research, commissioned Matrix Insight to evaluate the impact of the ERA-NET scheme. Rambøll Management and independent experts supported Matrix in delivering the impact assessment.

Click here to read the report titled Summary of the Impact Assessment Study of the ERA-NET scheme under the Sixth Framework Programme. You can find out more about the study by following this link.

Matrix Knowledge Group is proud to sponsor the Transformation award at the Guardian Public Services Awards 2009. Read more about this in our press release

Kevin Marsh wrote an article for Inside Time on The Real Cost of Prison. Click here to download the article.

Matrix Evidence supported The Ninth Annual Campbell Collaboration Colloquium which was held in Oslo, Norway on 18-20 May 2009.

Over the 3 day conference Kevin Marsh presented the following papers :

• Prioritising investment in public health: A review of the economic evidence
• The value of training the children’s workforce: An example of the use of modeling techniques to support reviews

You can find out more about the Colloquium here.

Matrix Knowledge Group was featured in a special report about doing business in emerging markets. Read full article »

David Welbourn, Matrix’s Director of Health and Human Services, wrote an article discussing practice management, finance and quality assurance. Read article »

Matrix has been commissioned by Health England to develop and apply a method for prioritising investments in preventative health and social care interventions.

This project is in line with the White Paper Our health, our care, our say and follows on from the development of such a methodology in the U.S. Matrix is working in collaboration with Imperial College London, Kings College London and Bazian Ltd.

You can find out more about the project here.

Dr. Kevin Marsh, Matrix’s Head of Economics, was quoted in the The Economist in an article about drug-trafficking in Europe. Read article »

Matrix was commissioned to undertake a survey of step improvements in community services by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement’s Service Transformation Team (STT). This work would be used to support the development of the new Productive Community Services (PCS) programme. You can read the key findings of the survey in the full report or a summary of the findings in the brief document.

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement’s Breaking Through team commissioned the Matrix Knowledge Group to ‘look specifically at the organisational barriers to black and minority ethnic (BME) staff rising to positions of authority and influence in the NHS’ in order to inform future developments.

You can download the report here.

Professor Poonam Kumar presented at the World Congress on Leadership in the Economy of Surprise, Wrenching Changes and Contradictions on 16-18 January 2009 at the ITC Hotel The Maratha, Mumbai (India). She presented a paper titled Why has Financial Sector Become the Whipping Boy of the Market? Further details on the event can be found here. You can download the paper here.

Matt Hopkins and John Burrows recently wrote a report with Nick Tilley and Adam Edwards titled Business views of organised crime, a Home Office Research Report 10. Find out more on the Crime, Policing & Justice Publications page.

Matrix has published an updated report on the Economic Case For and Against Prison based on the inclusion of new research studies and new analysis. Find out more on the Crime, Policing & Justice Publications page.

Matrix wrote a chapter on charity impact evaluation in A Guide to Giving published by Philanthropy UK. Find out more on the Social Welfare Publications page.

Matrix has published an updated report on the Economic Case For and Against Prison based on the inclusion of new research studies and new analysis. You can download the report and find out more on the Crime Policing and Justice Publications page.

Mega Ace and Matrix have formed a strategic partnership and now operate as a healthcare innovation and development group with offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, London and Washington DC.

Find out more on the Matrix India website.

Jacque Mallender, CEO of Matrix Knowledge Group, was on the panel at the 5th India Health Summit on 15 – 16 December 2008 in New Delhi.

The conference was organised in association with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & Indian Healthcare Federation (IHCF). Click here to see the conference brochure.

Andrew Beale spoke at the NHS Technology Adoption Centre – 2008 Annual Conference at the Wellcome Trust in London on the 1st December concerning the use of evidence in accelerating the adoption of good ideas. You can find out more about the conference here.

Matrix was proud to sponsor the National Pharmaceutical Council’s 2008 Annual Forumheld at The Ritz-Carlton in Arlington, Virginia USA on November 13-14. NPC’s current work focus is the area of evidence-based medicine and its potential effects on health care decision-making and outcomes and Matrix was delighted to support the NPC with their work. Matrix hosted a breakfast on November 14th for healthcare professionals who attended the event.

On October 2nd Matrix launched its new international offices.

Based just outside of Washington DC, Matrix International will coordinate the Group’s non-UK work across the four key lines of business: consulting, research, evidence reviews and software. The launch was attended by local government and business representatives from Montgomery County. Watch the County Executive, Isiah Legget, welcome Matrix here, or visit the Matrix North America website.

Mariell Juhlin, Director of Matrix Insight and Veronica Gaffey, Head of Evaluation in DG Regio, spoke at a DG Budget organised seminar on Using advanced/innovative methodologies for evaluation on Tuesday the 21st of October 2008 attended by members of the European Commission’s Evaluation Network. Click here to view Mariell Juhlin’s presentation.

Professor Paul Dolan, Matrix’s Chief Scientific Advisor, was quoted in The Independent on Sunday 12th October in the article The price of life – it was £20,000. Now NHS drugs body recalculates . You can read the article here.

Matrix was commissioned by the Department of Health to undertake a review of the evidence to inform prioritising investments in public health. The report of the findings of this research are now available from the Health Publications page.

Andy Beale recently spoke at a meeting run by the NHS National Innovation Centre (NIC) on Measuring and valuing innovation. Matrix was commissioned by the NIC to identify how to measure whether the NHS is becoming more innovative. This meeting was an initial part of the consultation process concerning the development of innovation metrics. More information will follow.

NICE have published their guidance on interventions for reducing premature death in disadvantaged groups.

The Matrix Knowledge Group undertook the economic analysis that informed the development of this guidance.

You can download the report here and further detail on the guidance can be found here.

Matrix, Imperial College London and University of York prepared a paper on Innovation and Well-being for NESTA.

The aims of this project were to:

1) review what is known about the relationship between innovation and well-being and, in particular, the causal relationship from innovation to wellbeing; and
2) consider whether data in the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) could be used to shed light on this relationship.

You can download the paper here