Pro Bono Economics
Pro Bono Economics matches volunteer economists with charities wishing to address questions around measurement, results and impact.
Through this PBE hopes to achieve two objectives:
– Improved effectiveness of the charity sector
– A valued contribution by economists both to the sector and to their professional development
There is growing pressure on charities to measure performance and results to quantify their wider impact on society. By helping charities to address these issues, economists can put their technical skills to use in the front line.
If you are an economist or charity interested in signing up with us please use the link on the right of the page to register.
Latest News
by admin on January 19, 2012
Shelter works to alleviate the distress caused by homelessness and bad housing through providing advice and information, and campaigning for political change to end the housing crisis.
Shelter approached us to find an economist who could offer some input to their work building an economic case for investment in housing.
Our volunteer economist Robert Carver considered the constraints to housing delivery since 2008. His findings suggest that the decline in house building is due to the depressed level of final demand for new homes rather than constraints in the planning system. Robert presented his findings at Shelter’s Housing and the Economy roundtable event in October, informing discussion among leading economists from a broad range of fields on the role housing supply can play in stimulating national economic growth.
The report can be read here
For more information about Shelter and its work, visit the Shelter website.
We are grateful to Robert Carver for his time and hard work in delivering this report.
by admin on November 1, 2011
NCB is a national charity which supports children, young people and families and those who work with them, across England and Northern Ireland. Their Young Inspectors programme recruited and trained disadvantaged young people to inspect and report on services in their areas. The initiative aimed to provide opportunities for marginalised young people to improve services and enable change in their communities.
A team of economists from Europe Economics, looking at an evaluation of the Young Inspectors programme, investigated how far it is possible to quantify the economic costs and benefits of the programme, and identify other resulting benefits.
The full report can be read here
NCB’s own evaluation of the Young Inspectors programme can be found here
For more information about NCB and its work, visit the NCB website.
We are grateful to the team at Europe Economics – Jonathan Green, Deborah Kelly and Sarah Shannon – for their hard work in delivering this report.
by admin on September 14, 2011
Barnardo’s is the UK’s leading children’s charity. One of its most crucial areas of work is in providing services for young people who have been sexually exploited: from apparently ‘consensual’ relationships and informal exchanges of sex for gifts, accommodation etc., through to serious organised crime.
Barnardo’s aims to identify and support young people at risk of sexual exploitation. Its services provide an environment for young people to get help and support, and offer a range of therapeutic interventions including counselling, group-work sessions and drop-in support. Services also raise awareness of child sexual exploitation in their local areas: working with schools and others to deliver preventative education programmes and providing specialist training to professionals so they know what signs to look out for.
The charity approached Pro Bono Economics for help in looking how at effective these interventions are and the wider impact they may have.
A team from the Bank of England – Greg Thwaites, Amar Radia and Mervyn Tang – looked at the extent to which Barnardo’s interventions reduce the risk of sexual exploitation (and associated risk factors), and estimated the possible savings to the taxpayer resulting from these interventions.
Click here to read the full report
Click here for more information about the methodology used
Key findings from the report can be found here in a briefing from Barnardo’s
Click here for the press release for this report
For more information about Barnardo’s and its work, particularly in the area of child sexual exploitation, visit the Barnardo’s website
We are grateful to the Bank of England team for their hard work on this project and to Barnardo’s, and Laura Blazey in particular, for their commitment and dedication.
St Basils works with young people aged 16 to 25 across Birmingham and North Worcestershire, providing supported accommodation and support services including: housing aid and advice; family mediation; learning skills; advice and guidance on education, employment and training; and resettlement and floating support. St Basils approached PBE for advice on better measuring the impact of its work.
A summary of the project can be found by clicking here
More information about the charity can be found on the St Basils website
