What Works Centre (WWC) for local employment support

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are jointly inviting proposals for an independent, co-created What Works Centre to identify, develop, test, and evaluate evidence-based locally delivered employment and labour market support to help people access, remain in, and thrive in work. The centre will focus primarily on the role and effectiveness of local and regional government levers to increase and sustain local labour force participation rates, with an emphasis on locally-delivered active labour market policies and other interventions aimed at achieving positive employment outcomes. ESRC and DWP are particularly interested in what works to support better employment outcomes for people living with, or caring for those living with, ill health (whether physical or mental), long-term health conditions, or disability. The centre will act as a central evidence hub, championing the systematic, purposeful, rigorous, and transparent assessment and implementation of what genuinely works for local and regional government actors across the UK in their quest to support better employment outcomes for their communities.