Nursery World - Editor's view - Money proves the bottom line in persuading people about a project's worth

There's no doubt that research that proves the success and effectiveness of a project, service or initiative in hard cash terms is more likely to change minds and policy than evidence that proves 'softer' outcomes.

The HighScope Perry Pre-School Project in the US was evaluated from as early as 1962, but is still commonly cited as a prime example of the effects of high-quality early years care and education on threeand four-year-olds from low-income families. It is the figure of $16 saved for every $1 spent that has become the mantra of those pushing for greater early intervention.

This is the approach taken by the Local Authority Research Consortium in commissioning the NFER to do research into the Common Assessment Framework (News, page 3). Typical CAF process costs of a couple of thousand pounds are contrasted with savings on expensive specialist services of up to £100,000.

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