Money Guiders: Phase two evaluation

Focusing on those most in-need, through organisations in the not-for-profit, public service and public benefit sectors, Money Guiders can help frontline practitioners to have money conversations with individual customers or groups of any age.

Our Money Guiders pilot phase ran between 2020-2022, with phase two running from 2022-2025.

Learn more about Money Guiders

Building on learning from the pilot, phase two has sought to introduce several enhancements including induction sessions for organisations engaging with the programme, digitalisation of the money guidance competency framework for practitioners, expansion of training modules, and developments to aid navigation between programme elements.

We commissioned Ecorys UK to evaluate phase two of the programme, using a mixed-method approach combining in-depth interviews, practitioner surveys and analysis of programme data.

• Strengthen evidence from the pilot phase concerning programme reach and effectiveness, capture more robust evidence about effects on practitioner behaviour, and explore organisational and system-level outcomes.
• Understand the optimal depth of engagement for different types of practitioners, identifying programme improvements to enable practitioners to engage at a level appropriate for their role.
• Explore implementation, roll-out and effectiveness of new or improved programme components.

We surveyed over 450 practitioners and interviewed 56 individuals from 41 different organisations.

We would like to express our thanks to all practicioners who have taken part in the programme since its inception, and especially those who have taken part in our evaluation over the last two years.

Partner organisations and practitioners reported high levels of satisfaction with the programme, believing that the enhancements made during phase two were positive.

• 95% of the 456 practitioners surveyed reported being either ‘extremely satisfied’ (22%), ‘very satisfied’ (46%) or ‘satisfied’ (27%) with Money Guiders.
• 85% of survey respondents using the learning hub felt it was useful to either ‘a great extent’ (44%) or a ‘large extent’ (41%). 
• Equivalent figures from engagement with networks and communities showed that 83% felt they were useful to a ‘great’ (46%) or a ‘large’ (37%) extent, and for the competency framework 83% felt this was useful to a ‘great’ (40%) or ‘large’ (43%) extent.
• Findings show that the specific programme enhancements in phase two were effectively implemented and well received by the organisations and individual practitioners engaged.
• Induction sessions for partner organisations have improved understanding of the programme offer, while learning hub and competency framework enhancements are supporting improved use of these elements at individual and organisational levels.

Money Guiders has been shown to be effective in generating positive outcomes for practitioners, enhancing their awareness, knowledge and understanding relating to money guidance, as well as confidence in providing it.

The following elements of money guidance practice were seen as being improved to either a great or large extent:

• recognition of the value and importance of money guidance (87%)
• commitment to providing money guidance (83%)
• understanding of ‘role boundaries’ when giving money guidance (82%)
• understanding of what money guidance is and how it relates to regulated debt advice and regulated financial advice (79%)
• knowledge of money guidance (78%)
• confidence in providing money guidance to customers (77%)
• skills in delivering money guidance (75%)

The evaluation also found positive effects at the organisational level, with leaders/managers citing improvements in the breadth, depth, and/or quality of money guidance provided by their organisation as a result of the programme.

Emerging findings also indicated positive changes such as improved networking between organisations, knowledge exchange, and increased commitment to funding and investment in money guidance.

The evaluation report highlighted some of the ways we could develop Money Guiders further.

These include:

• greater awareness of some programme elements, including our digital community platform 
• minor improvements to Learning Hub navigation 
• offering participants further learning opportunities across the programme 
• increased promotion across the sector of the City and Guilds-endorsed digital credential 
• looking at ways for individuals who are not part of a Money Guiders partner organisation to develop and integrate the programme into their own organisation.