What the DHSC Evaluation Strategy 2026 means for Creative Health
This week, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a new evaluation strategy. It is aimed at people working within the department and the wider health and care system, setting out how DHSC wants evaluation to inform policy, programmes and spending decisions. Whilst Creative Health researchers and evaluators are not the target audience for the strategy, it provides a clear signal of the kind of evidence DHSC is likely to find useful.
The Context of the DHSC Evaluation Strategy
The DHSC evaluation strategy sits alongside the government’s plans for healthcare reform, including the three major shifts:
- moving care from hospitals into communities,
- making better use of digital tools,
- focusing more on prevention rather than only treating illnesses once they have already happened.
The strategy defines evaluation as a way of understanding what works, what does not, for whom and why. It recognises that programmes do not work in the same way for everyone, everywhere. This is especially relevant to creative health, where outcomes depend on the context of the people involved, the setting, the relationships, the creative process, the quality of facilitation, the wider community infrastructure, and the conditions that make participation possible.
What the Strategy Says
The DHSC evaluation strategy asks for evidence that is:
- rigorous but proportionate,
- inclusive and ethical,
- practical,
- transparent about uncertainty,
and
- focused on learning as well as proving impact.
For Creative Health researchers and evaluators, the word ‘proportionate’ is particularly helpful. Not every project needs the same kind of evaluation. The guidance encourages us to ask, ‘what is the right evaluation for this decision, in this setting, and this stage of development?’ This must be balanced with considerations of how the evidence reflects the communities it is meant to serve.
The strategy gives examples of where a standard trial was not practical, and where other methods were needed to understand real-world impact. It also highlights adaptive evaluation, which means learning while a programme is still developing, rather than waiting until the end. This is useful for creative health, as many programmes are relational, place-based and responsive to local need.
Perhaps the most important message is that evaluation findings need to be used. Reports should not sit on shelves. Evaluation should shape future delivery, commissioning, policy and practice. The strategy is clear that learning from failure, uncertainty and unexpected findings is part of good evaluation.
Other Important Government Guidance Resources
The DHSC evidence strategy also refers to the Magenta Book and the Green Book. The Magenta Book is government guidance on how to plan and carry out evaluation. The Green Book is government guidance on how to assess whether public spending is likely to offer good value.
These documents show us the kinds of questions that policymakers and commissioners are often expected to consider, such as:
- What problem is being addressed?
- What outcomes matter?
- What are the costs?
- What might have happened anyway?
- What are the wider benefits or risks?
