How a policy or service is implemented on the front line can make or break an intervention. Our Intervention Tool, which summarises the reliable evidence for homelessness interventions, is designed to inform commissioners, policymakers and practitioners, and improve intervention strategies and implementation.

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A new version of the tool is now available that includes a new implementation section. This new content summarises the evidence about the key facilitators and barriers to delivering a successful intervention. These qualitative 'why things work or not' implementation considerations complement the more quantitative 'what works' causal insights from the first version of the tool.

These summaries were created by a multidisciplinary team of homelessness and systematic review experts from Cardiff and Heriot-Watt Universities. The basis for the new content was the Centre's Implementation Map – an evidence and gap map visualising where evidence has been published about facilitators and barriers for each intervention category.

The Intervention Tool will continue to evolve over time. As new studies are published the tool will be updated to reflect the latest evidence. For example, the findings from the Queen's University Belfast systematic reviews of housing, discharge and health interventions are likely to have implications for several parts of the tool.

The Centre is committed to improving the Intervention Tool as regularly as possible with short update cycles and continuous user testing. This iterative approach is a key part of our lean start-up philosophy.

The long term vision for the Intervention Tool is to turn the impact estimations and implementation considerations into more concrete guidance. As the evidence base grows, the Centre will be able to more confidently assert which interventions should be commissioned, and provide specific implementation checklists for front-line teams.

To see the new implementation section, click on an intervention in Intervention Tool and scroll down to the implementation considerations. Let us know what you think by emailing the team at hello@homelessnessimpact.org.