Ruth Doggett is Assistant Principal Officer in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. She has led the What Works initiative from its concept, providing overall direction on the initiative’s four key work strands (data, evidence, professional development and quality). In the following address from the What Works Launch on 19 June 2019, she speaks to the purpose, background and outputs of What Works.
She speaks to the need for a programme of systematic change to enhance and embed evidence informed prevention and early intervention approaches in children and young peoples’ services across Ireland. She provides an insight into how the four strands of What Works (data, evidence, professional development and quality) were identified and developed since the initiative’s inception. Her presentation also covers the current projects under What Works, and plans for its future development.