The Applied Social Science Unit for Research and Evaluation (ASSURE) was established in 1999 to create an exchange between practitioners in the social care and welfare world and those who comment upon it. It is a cross-disciplinary unit that works in partnership with the third and statutory sectors offering them support to carry out their own projects, through capacity building and training, as well as full evaluation and research services.

We have the expertise and flexibility to meet a wide range of needs: from the most complex of assessments to smaller programme evaluations with limited resources. No matter the size of the project, our approach is careful and client-centred. We can offer a standard external evaluation process or engage to a greater degree with stakeholders, practitioners and managers to increase their skill level through structured reflection, analysis and facilitated learning to gain a greater insight into how to monitor and evidence a programme's impact and potential for replication.