Their selection reflects their extensive experience in designing and delivering evaluations in highly complex, dynamic and uncertain contexts, and supporting decision-makers across UK government to use evidence to inform public policy.
Supporting better evaluation across government
ETAP brings together evaluation specialists passionate about evidence-based policymaking to advise UK government departments, local authorities and What Works Centres. Members help teams design proportionate and credible evaluations, review methods and business cases, and support the practical application of evidence in complex policy environments. The panel forms part of the wider effort, led jointly by HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office, to improve the quality, consistency and use of evaluation across government.
Over the next two years, Chris and David will provide advice on theory-based and mixed methods evaluation design, support teams considering trials or quasi-experimental approaches, and help strengthen evaluation capability across the public sector.
Bringing Itad’s practical experience
Both bring many years of experience supporting governments in the UK and internationally.
- Chris Barnett has led major, multi-year evaluations and supported organisations to embed learning and evidence use in fastmoving, complex contexts. He has extensive experience in the fields of investment, research impact, livelihoods, civil society and governance. He is experienced in theories of change, theory-based and mixed method evaluation designs, portfolio evaluations, and value for money frameworks. He has published on innovative ways to evaluate impact and causality, power imbalances and evaluation ethics.
- David Fleming specialises in public policy evaluation and approaches that balance methodological rigour with operational and political realities. He is highly experienced in designing, conducting and leading evaluations of programmes and strategies for a range of UK government departments – including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Home Office, National Crime Agency and Ministry of Defence – focusing on conflict, security, criminality, migration, defence and international development. He specialises in theory-based evaluation approaches, and is experienced in contribution analysis, process evaluation, value for money evaluation, realist evaluation and theories of change.
Their combined experience means they can support government teams to think through feasibility, data needs and trade-offs in diverse thematic settings, ensuring evaluations are both robust and usable.
A perspective from the panel
Reflecting on his appointment, David said:
“Joining the UK Government’s Evaluation and Trial Advice Panel is a real privilege. After 17 years supporting UK Government departments to design and use evaluations in complex, fastmoving environments, I’ve seen how timely, well crafted advice can shape better policy and spending decisions. I’m really excited to bring that experience to help central and local government strengthen evaluative thinking and practice, navigate the trade-offs between evaluative rigour and pragmatism, and ultimately ensure that evidence improves people’s lives.”
Why this matters
High quality evaluation helps decisionmakers understand what public spending achieves, how programmes can be improved, and where resources are best directed. The Evaluation Task Force aims to strengthen this across the whole of government, supporting more transparent, accountable and effective policy.
Contributing to this aligns strongly with Itad’s mission. Our work across health, energy, governance, security, climate, education and other sectors emphasises the practical value of evidence that is both rigorous and grounded in real world constraints. Chris and David’s involvement in ETAP offers an opportunity to bring that approach into a broader public policy context.
Looking ahead
We look forward to supporting their work on the panel and to contributing to the Task Force’s ambition to embed stronger evaluative practice across the public sector. As government teams navigate increasingly complex challenges, access to clear, proportionate and well designed evidence is increasingly important. ETAP plays a vital role in supporting this, and we are pleased that Itad will be part of that effort.
