On the last two days the group visited Carolyn Webster-Stratton and her team to hear about the Incredible Years programme, and also the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington to hear from David Hawkins, Kevin Haggerty and their team about the Communities that Care (CTC) prevention operating system and a series of evidence-based programmes that they have developed and tested.

Today we visited the Washington State Institute for Public Policy and heard from Steve Aos, Robert Barnoski and Stephanie Lee about their work for the state legislature on the cost-benefit of different programs.

The group’s discussion afterwards focused on the meaning of ‘evidence-based’, the implications of evidence that a program doesn’t work, and how best to get politicians engaged with the evidence.

Discussions on the third day of the study tour centered around the fit between programs and systems, fidelity of implementation and adaptation to cultural context.

Having visited staff implementing proven interventions, the Olweus Bullying Program and Multisystemic Therapy, the study tour delegates discuss the implications. Fidelity and the need for an overall coherent strategy were central to the debate.

Each day this week, delegates on the Social Research Unit study tour will be reflecting on their visits to proven programs and talks with program designers. This is the first of a series of group reflections where delegates were asked what they hoped to get out of the week.