In January 2025, I stepped into a part-time secondment as Programme Lead on two projects within the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI)’s Test and Learn programme. This ground-breaking initiative is the first of its kind in the world! It is trialling ways to reduce homelessness and end rough sleeping, with each project rigorously evaluated. It also includes mapping the wider homelessness and rough sleeping system. I worked on two of the projects in the portfolio ( Health/Nurses in Outreach Teams and Accommodate or Connect) and got a behind-the-scenes look at how this ambitious, government-backed programme is putting £15 million of investment to work across the country.

1. Big programmes run on unglamorous graft

From the outside, Test and Learn looks like a high-profile, well-funded programme. And it is!  But from the inside, it’s also a lot of spreadsheets, stakeholder calls, and coordination. In my time as Programme Lead, I was juggling monthly catch-ups with 19 local authority leads, regular check-ins with academics and delivery partners, and making sure reporting was up to date for CHI and the Ministry for Housing, Local Government and Communities. I also arranged project group meetings to bring stakeholders from different parts of the country together. Each project involves complex strands of work across research, service delivery, commissioning, and policy. There are layers of processes and reporting to make sure the £15 million investment is used well. And that takes time, planning, and a lot of behind-the-scenes effort. It’s not glamorous, but the level of work going in to help things run as smoothly as they can is genuinely impressive.

2. Collaboration takes patience (and a lot of deeper listening)

Test and Learn brings together a wide mix of people: local authorities, delivery organisations, academics, civil servants, and people with lived experience. Each comes with different priorities and pressures. Understandably, service providers are focused on day-to-day delivery, academics care deeply about rigour and data quality, and policy teams have their own frameworks to work within. We don’t all speak or understand the same language, and that can create tension. But I saw how much difference it makes when people come to the table with openness, curiosity and care. The Programme Leads all have service delivery experience, which really helps when navigating different perspectives and keeping relationships on track.

3. The early impact stories are powerful

One of the most energising parts of the role was hearing early examples of how these projects were already making a difference. The Health/Nurses in Outreach Teams project is evaluating nurses embedded in outreach teams working directly with people sleeping rough to address health needs and link them to GP services through new outreach health services. I heard about nurses engaging people who’d been shut out of services, those who were really unwell but hadn’t been able to access help. I also heard about Accommodate or Connect, which provides short-term accommodation and supported, voluntary reconnection for people without a local connection. That meant people avoided the trauma of being turned away, and found quicker routes out of homelessness. These stories reminded me what’s at stake, and why it’s worth pushing through the complexity.

4. Evidence doesn’t slow things down.. It makes change possible

A few people asked me why we’re bothering to test ideas that “everyone knows” are good, like embedding nurses in outreach teams. It’s a fair question, and I get the frustration, especially from people who’ve seen first-hand why what they’re already doing is helping and just want to get it rolled out as fast as possible. But with Test and Learn we’re not just confirming what we already think, we’re building a case for investing in and scaling what actually works. Housing First is a great example. It started as a niche idea in England, and over time became a core part of the UK’s response to rough sleeping. The strong international evidence base for Housing First was key to its adoption. When you have robust evidence, it gives interventions that we all know work the chance to be taken seriously, funded, and rolled out more widely to make a difference to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

5. Everyone’s doing their bit to bring this beast together

From the outside, a programme like this can seem distant or even overwhelming, especially for people trying to deliver services under pressure. I can imagine some wondering, “Why did we sign up for this?” But stepping inside, I saw that every person involved, whether in a local authority, charity, research team or government department, is playing their part in something much bigger. It’s not always easy, and it definitely isn’t tidy, but there’s a shared commitment to making it work. And that’s what keeps it moving.

Final Thoughts

Working on Test and Learn gave me a new appreciation for the scale, complexity and potential of this programme. I’m proud to have played a small part in it, and genuinely appreciative that something like this exists - bringing people together to test what works and learn from what doesn’t. It’s not always easy, but the commitment across the sector is clear, and I’m excited to see what insights and change this work will bring.

Interim findings from the trials are expected from autumn 2025 - you can follow updates here.