New Publication – Independent Evaluation of the Ignite Pilot training programme

The Ignite pilot training programme

The Ignite pilot training programme was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Carefollowing a review into commissioning capabilities in the adult social care sector in England. The programme aimed to strengthen senior commissioners’ ability to address complex commissioning challenges and be an agent of change.

The programme launched in July 2024 and concluded in March 2025. It consisted of three in person core modules, and two online applied learning hubs as well as elective virtual masterclasses and spotlight sessions.

An independent evaluation of the programme was commissioned from the Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University, who analysed data provided by EY, SCIE and West Midlands ADASS, the lead programme delivery organisations, and undertook surveys and interviews with programme participants, their line managers and Directors of Adult Social Services (DASSs). This evaluation report summarises the evaluators’ findings, observations and insights into the success of the programme, and makes recommendations on what a longer-term version of the programme might look like. 

Download reports

Download the Independent Evaluation report here.

IPC have also produced a two page Highlight Report.

Sign Up to Our Newsletter

Don’t miss out on insights and updates from IPC. Subscribe to our free newsletter and get public care news and resources delivered straight to your inbox.

Subscribe

Contact the author

Get in Touch
Amy Harmsworth
Senior Consultant
Professor Fiona Richardson
Director

Latest News

Guardrails and guidance: ensuring the safe use of AI in qualitative research 

This blog is the first from Transformation Partners in Health and Care (TPHC) and IPC. By combining TPHC’s NHS-facing transformation and analytics expertise with IPC’s academic rigour and leadership in research and evaluation, we’re exploring how emerging technology can be used.
More Details

Safeguarding in the context of adoption and special guardianship – insights from the webinar

In January, over 160 professionals from across England and Wales attended one of our series of research and practice webinars, focused on safeguarding within adoptive and special guardianship families.
More Details

Lead the Way: Consultant & Senior Consultant Opportunities at IPC

The Institute of Public Care is expanding, and we're looking for experienced consultants to lead our knowledge exchange projects.
More Details

Join Our Team: Assistant Consultant Opportunity at IPC

The Institute of Public Care is growing, and we're looking for an enthusiastic Assistant Consultant to join our team.
More Details

South-West Children’s Regional Sufficiency Strategy webinar

This free event is OPEN TO ALL and is aimed at Commissioners and strategic leads in Children’s Services with responsibility for Sufficiency of Children’s Services provision, primarily around children in care.
More Details

February and March course spaces

We have a few remaining spaces on our Principles of Commissioning course February 2026 and Children's Care Purchasing and Brokerage course March 2026.
More Details

South West Regional Sufficiency Strategy

New Publication. This Strategy provides an up-to-date regional picture of supply and demand of children’s placements to inform action to tackle challenges which are urgent and widely shared. It will be of interest to both commissioners and providers, as well as other regions developing collaborative approaches to address insufficiency.
More Details

Black Friday offer!

We’re offering a 15% reduction on the £900 teaching fee for the Children’s Commissioning Course in January - March 2026.
More Details

A New Kind of Commissioning for Challenging Times

IPC Associate John Bryant explores how commissioners can navigate today’s complex health and social care landscape by rethinking traditional approaches. He introduces a new framework for collaborative, values-driven commissioning that fosters trust, shared purpose and real impact across systems. John and IPC Senior Consultant Amy Harmsworth will be discussing their ideas at the next national Commissioners Conference 13th-14th November. See News page for booking details.
More Details

An evaluation of ‘One Bexley Pathways’

Read about an innovative step to delegate statutory Care Act duties. IPC recently undertook an evaluation of ‘One Bexley Pathways’ – a consortium of voluntary sector organisations undertaking delegated Care Act responsibilities. Dr Melanie Henwood, Visiting Research Fellow with IPC, reflects on the main findings of the evaluation.
More Details

Improving the response to child exploitation so that children are safer sooner

John Wilkinson, Associate Visiting Research Fellow at IPC, shares his reflections on an innovative partnership to co-design a better response to child exploitation risks and harms. This has produced ‘Our Place’, the winner for Children’s Services at this year’s LGC national awards.
More Details

IPC to present at Oxford Brookes University CPD Healthcare day

IPC will be hosting a stand and presenting at this event to highlight our valuable CPD work and extend a warm welcome to attendees.
More Details

Publication Signup

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

To receive our newsletter & gain access to our publications, please add your details below and select areas of interest. If you've done this before, you will see this prompt if you've deleted or don't collect browser cookies, or it's been more than a year since you've visited this page.

We will always store your personal details securely. We will never sell your contact details to another organisation and never share your data with other organisations for marketing purposes. You can opt-out at any time.

Subject Areas of Interest
Marketing Permissions
Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Institute of Public Care:

By submitting this form, you agree to be contacted in relation to News, Resources, and Updates. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please view our Privacy Policy.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Publication Signup

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

To receive our newsletter & gain access to our publications, please add your details below and select areas of interest. If you've done this before, you will see this prompt if you've deleted or don't collect browser cookies, or it's been more than a year since you've visited this page.

We will always store your personal details securely. We will never sell your contact details to another organisation and never share your data with other organisations for marketing purposes. You can opt-out at any time.

Subject Areas of Interest
Marketing Permissions
Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Institute of Public Care:

By submitting this form, you agree to be contacted in relation to News, Resources, and Updates. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please view our Privacy Policy.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.