What is the Amber programme?

The Amber programme, operated by the Amber Foundation, provides supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 30 who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, are unemployed, and who may have additional co-occurring complex needs (defined as a range of challenges, for example substance misuse, mental health issues and/or a history of offending). The programme provides young people with a temporary, safe place to live, and aims to support them to secure sustainable income, employment, education and accommodation, with the ultimate aim of leading healthy and fulfilling lives.

What did the programme concept test study aim to do?

The programme concept test study was commissioned by the Youth Futures Foundation and conducted between June 2021 and April 2023 by Cordis Bright. The aims of the study were:

1. To understand the programme theory of the Amber support model and provide an outline of the underlying mechanisms and drivers of change.
2. To support the Amber Foundation to understand their Theory of Change and how to evidence the pathways and outcomes through the collection and analysis of consistent data.
3. To capture a rich understanding of resident experiences and views of the support model.
4. To support the Amber Foundation to know which elements of delivery work most effectively and to refine practice to support further achievement of EET outcomes.
5. To provide recommendations and a plan for further evaluation.

How did we do it?

This study took a mixed methods, phased approach, using the following research methods: 

• Support with development and refining for the Amber Programme’s theory of change and participant journey.
• Semi-structured interviews with 75 residents, 29 staff members, and 14 external stakeholders.
• A series of capacity building activities and workshops to improve monitoring and outcome data collection processes, and understand the acceptability and feasibility of a range of impact evaluation approaches, including RCTs, QEDs, and theory based approaches.
• Analysis of quantitative data for 203 residents collected between May 2022 and February 2023.

Further information about the methods used is provided in the final report.

What did we find?

Findings in the final report indicate several strengths to the approach taken by the Amber programme, which are also reflected in the literature on supporting young people facing multiple disadvantage. These include:

• A broad range of referral pathways that maximise access to support.
• Holistic, tailored approaches that address a broad range of needs in the “right order” to build a strong foundation from which residents can progress.
• Compassionate, skilled and non-judgemental staff members.
• A staged progression model that supports growth and development.
• Resident input into programme design and delivery.
• Developing individual goals and aspirations.
• Residents being able to move through the programme at their own pace.
• Opportunities for residents to connect with one another and their local communities.
• Support to gain independent living and employment skills needed to progress into education, employment and training.

Findings also identified several areas for programme refinement, some of which are already being addressed by Amber staff. These include recommended improvements to: 1) programme manualisation to support consistent delivery between both individual members of staff and sites, 2) introducing thresholds to ensure consistent progression through the programme, 3) enhanced training for staff to support a broad range of needs, 4) bolstering follow-up support to improve sustained outcomes once residents have left the centres, and 5) increasing opportunities for Team Leaders to exchange knowledge and good practice across the centres.

The final report also includes a series of recommendations to further strengthen data capabilities and readiness for impact evaluation. It suggests that a theory-based, mixed methods approach to impact evaluation, such as contribution analysis, process tracing or qualitative comparative analysis, may provide the most feasible, robust approach for a “small n impact evaluation” of the Amber programme, as per TASO (2022) guidance.

Project outputs

Youth Futures Foundation have published the final report for the programme concept test study of the Amber programme.

We would love to hear from you about the programme concept test study of the Amber programme or our work evaluating EET support for young people experiencing multiple disadvantage. Please contact Emma Andersen for more information.