We have a ‘do no harm’ policy. This means that if the data suggests a given intervention is not having a discernible positive effect, and the charity does not wish this to be in the public domain, we will not publicise the details of the report.

However, we will ensure that the board of the charity sees the report, so that they are able to take appropriate steps. As with any project, we would follow up to identify whether our work is having an impact. A more likely scenario is that there is some data, but that it is simply not enough to know whether the intervention is having a positive impact or not.

In these cases we may recommend that further data collection is carried out. We also have an agreement that states that all parties (the charity, Pro Bono Economics and the volunteers) must agree what is published. This ensures that nothing ambiguous or unclear will reach the public domain.