Designing a Canadian What Works Centre

In June 2018, Mowat NFP and the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance co-led a group of senior government officials, funders and non-profit leaders on a learning tour in the UK on designing Canadian What Works Centres.

The Canadian delegation met over the course of one week with UK government officials, including the What Works National Adviser and the What Works Team in the Cabinet Office, What Works Centres representatives, academics, funders and charitable organizations to discuss a variety of topics:

• History, current landscape, and future direction of the What Works Centres
• Developing a What Works Centre (e.g. What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care)
• Transitioning existing evidence institutions to a What Works Centre
• Best practices in generating and mobilizing evidence
• Standards of evidence
• Opportunities for cross-country collaboration
• Funding models for What Works Centres