Ph.D. Topic: Assessing Leadership in Interagency Work for Children
Increasingly, policy makers and service managers, planners and practitioners are encouraged, and often mandated, to work together to achieve better outcomes for children and young people (CFRC/CAWT, 2008). While interagency collaboration has its challenges, leadership is a critical factor in terms of engaging partnership members, and has a great impact on the developmental trajectory of interagency groups (Horwath and Morrison, 2007).
Following from this the evaluation of interagency work should require a focus on institutional leadership. Yet, within the general literature on the evaluation of social interventions, limited attention is paid to this key area.
This PhD research aims to contribute to evaluation methodology by exploring how to incorporate a focus on leadership in evaluations. The theoretical framework for the study will draw on extant literature on evaluation research, interagency work, and leadership in non-profit organisations, among other areas. Its empirical basis will be a case study of the Childhood Development Initiative in Tallaght West.
