Evaluation is critical to understanding what works in public policy, for whom, and under what circumstances. It’s the key to ensuring that government programmes are delivered effectively, have a positive impact and provide good value for money to the public. Evaluation supports us to make evidence-based decisions about which policies, projects and programmes should be continued, modified, or stopped.
But it can be difficult to find and access the right evaluation evidence when you need it. The Evaluation Registry brings together evaluation plans and reports in a single, accessible website.
So what is the Evaluation Registry?
In simple terms, the Evaluation Registry is a GOV.UK site where all UK government planned, live and completed evaluations should be registered. As well as registering evaluations, users can search and browse the Registry to learn from previous evaluation findings and plan new research.
As of June 2025, the Registry contains over 1,750 entries and counting, making it one of the largest sources of evaluation evidence in the world!
Why do we need a Registry?
In our founding plans for the Evaluation Task Force, we identified the need for a single location for evaluations to be found – whether that’s planned evaluations, evaluations currently underway, or those that are complete with findings to report.
We weren’t alone in identifying a need for this – when the National Audit Office (NAO) investigated evaluation in Government (click here for the report), transparency and publication of evaluation findings were identified as areas needing improvement and called for the ‘open by default’ approach to evaluations to be reinforced. The Public Accounts Committee also recommended that the Cabinet Office develop a tracking system for evaluations (click here for the report) that the Government accepted and committed to meeting via the development of the Evaluation Registry.
The Registry makes it easier than ever before to search and browse published evaluations, whether you’re a public servant looking for evidence to support a new business case or an evaluation specialist looking to compare research designs.
Who can use the Registry?
Any member of the public can use the Registry to search and browse entries, enabling greater accessibility, accountability and transparency.
Any employee of a Government Department or Arms Length Body, as well as colleagues in organisations which are part of the What Works Network, can create an account for the Registry in order to log in and register evaluations. Central evaluation teams or leads within organisations are responsible for overseeing the entries registered on the site. If you are a government staff, get in touch with your central evaluation team with any questions about uploading entries from your Department.
The Registry isn’t just for analysts and social researchers – we encourage civil servants of all professions and those outside government to make use of the Registry to understand what works – and what doesn’t – across different policy and delivery areas.
Get involved, and join us on our mission to ensure evidence sits at the heart of Government decision-making. Click here to access the Registry and start exploring today! If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
