PYB300 Chap.2 Evidence Base, Program Team and Partnerships
Evidence Base, Program Team and Partnerships
The evidence base is the longest section of the prospectus, a literature and desktop review of three to four pages that argues the need for the program, sets out what research says about tackling the issue, and judges how existing programs measure up. This chapter shows which sources suit each element, how to report a study with its sample, purpose and findings, and how to finish with a linking statement.
It closes with the shorter Team and Partnerships sections that funders read closely.
What this chapter covers
- 01
The three jobs of the evidence base
- 02
Peer-reviewed research for need and strategies; websites for existing programs
- 03
Scoping the topic and keeping the literature inside that scope
- 04
Reporting a study: sample, purpose and findings
- 05
Synthesis and linking statements back to the program
- 06
The Team section: roles and responsibilities, not head counts
- 07
Partnerships: why they matter and who is realistic
Worked example · free
Report a qualitative study and link it to the program
- 1State the design and sample plainly: a qualitative, phenomenological study of 15 adults, aged 31 to 66, interviewed one month after discharge.
- 1Report the findings at the right strength: participants described facilitators of community integration and barriers in navigating hospital, disability and NDIS systems.
- 1Note the limit: fifteen interviews explain experiences and mechanisms but cannot show how common the problem is.
- 1Write the linking statement: these accounts suggest the program should include navigation support and involve people with lived experience in its design.
Key terms
- Desktop review
- A review of publicly available material, such as program websites and government reports, used alongside the scholarly literature.
- Peer-reviewed research
- Scholarly work checked by independent experts before publication, which the guide requires for the need and strategy elements of the evidence base.
- Linking statement
- A sentence that connects a finding back to the issue and to the program, showing why the evidence matters for the proposal.
- Scoping
- Narrowing the original topic, for example to one region or subgroup, which must be stated and reflected in the literature reviewed.
- Phenomenological study
- Qualitative research that explores how people experience a situation, usually through in-depth interviews with a small sample.
- Grey literature
- Material produced outside academic publishing, such as organisational reports and program websites, useful for describing existing programs.
Evidence Base, Program Team and Partnerships FAQ
How long should the evidence section be?
The writing guide suggests no more than three to four pages. Within that space, show why the program is needed and what tackling the issue would gain, what research says about ways of tackling it, and, where it helps, how well evidence supports programs already running. Dot points are acceptable if they do not reduce readability.
Can I use websites as sources in the evidence base?
Only for the overview of existing programs. The need and the strategy elements should rest on scholarly, peer-reviewed research. Even for existing programs, your judgement about whether they are evidence based should come from what the scholarly literature taught you about the factors behind the issue. National statistics can help establish how large a problem is.
What goes in the Team section versus the budget?
The Team section names the key roles, such as facilitators, counsellors or a coordinator, and explains what each will do in the program. How many people fill each role, and for how many hours or weeks, belongs in the budget assumptions. Remember management roles too, such as a coordinator or steering committee.
Do we need real partnerships for the prospectus?
No. The guide accepts that you cannot name confirmed partnerships, but asks you to identify several realistic potential partners and explain what each could do. Checking who the partner organisation already works with is a good starting point, since existing relationships give the strongest foundation and funders view partnership favourably.
Exam move
Agree on your scope as a team before anyone searches, and write it at the top of a shared document so every member searches the same population and setting. For each study you keep, record the sample, the purpose and the main finding in one line, then add one line on what it means for your program. When you draft, group studies by finding rather than by author so the section synthesises instead of listing.
If a search keeps returning the wrong population, ask a librarian for help with search terms and Boolean operators, as the sample team in the progress report did.
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