Using administrative data for policy evaluation: What works, what doesn’t, and what to watch out for

Join the ADR England Community Catalyst: Children at Risk of Poor Outcomes group for their next webinar, focusing on evaluation using administrative data.

In this session, former ADR UK research fellow Dr Will Cook will share his expertise and experience in using administrative data for policy evaluation. The session will be chaired by the Co-leads of the ADR England Community Catalyst: Children at Risk of Poor Outcomes project, Professor Lucy Griffiths and Professor Karen Broadhurst.

Register for a ticket

Background

Administrative data availability for researchers has expanded significantly in recent years. This creates opportunities not only to evaluate current policies, but also to revisit and assess past policies that were previously impossible to study.

In this session, the speaker will outline some of their work evaluating education and wider social policies, highlighting key findings and what they reveal about the design and impact of interventions. He will then introduce his current research projects and describe how he is using administrative data to assess public policy effectiveness.

Getting policy evaluation right is not straightforward. Administrative datasets can be messy, incomplete, or difficult to interpret, and applying robust quasi‑experimental methods requires careful thought. The speaker will discuss some of the key considerations for conducting rigorous policy evaluation research with administrative data, including common pitfalls, lessons learned, and mistakes he has made along the way.

Finally, he will offer practical guidance on how to approach policy evaluation using administrative data - covering methodological tips, data‑handling strategies, and ways to ensure that research findings are both credible and impactful for policymakers.

About the speaker

Dr Will Cook is a Reader in Policy Evaluation at Manchester Metropolitan University, specialising in labour economics, the economics of education, health economics, and applied econometrics. He was an ADR UK research fellow from 2021–2023 and has subsequently led grant funded projects using administrative data for policy evaluation. He also co-leads the Admin Data for Social Policy (ADSoP) hub, which connects researchers, funders, and policymakers. Before joining academia, Will worked as an economic adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit.

Event details

When: 12:30-13:15, Thursday 23 April 2026
Where: Online 
Cost: Free
How to attend: Register on Ticket Source. We will email you a Zoom webinar link within three working days of registration. If you experience any problems, please email marie.greaves@swansea.ac.uk.

Co-funded by ADR England and Foundations – What Works Centre for Children and Families, the ADR England Research Community Catalyst: Children at Risk of Poor Outcomes aims to increase use of ADR  UK flagship datasets, and to support a community of researchers and analysts focused on children and young people supported by early intervention services or children’s social care in the UK. As part of this work, they have developed a research agenda, built on a comprehensive review of the evidence and national stakeholder consultation.