‍Open call to join the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI) Peer Review Panel

About CHI

The Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI) is a member of the What Works Network. It advocates for an evidence based approach to ending homelessness for good. CHI supports organisations in the field of homelessness and beyond to make evidence-led decisions and to adopt evidence-led practices.

Establishing a peer review panel

CHI is seeking to recruit a diverse group of individuals who, we anticipate, will have a wide range of interests and expertise in the evaluation of housing and homelessness programmes and interventions. We are looking to appoint independent anonymous peer reviewers to provide additional scrutiny and support to independent evaluators working on rigorous evaluation of the implementation, process, cost and impact of interventions, programmes and policies. 

Peer reviewers are invited to apply to be on our panel and those selected for the panel will be offered review opportunities aligned with their expertise. Reviewers will be compensated for their time (see below for Terms of Reference). Please note this invitation is for individuals rather than organisations.

Individual peer reviewers will not be expected to work in all of these methodologies, but collectively, the panel will offer the following expertise:

• Rapid Evidence Reviews and Systematic Reviews
• Randomised controlled trial design and analysis
• Quasi-experimental methods, including difference in differences, matching, synthetic controls, among others
• Small-n evaluations, including process tracing, contribution analysis, among others
• Systems-wide evaluations, including system mapping and system dynamics, discrete event simulation modelling, among others
• Implementation and process evaluation, including mixed methods approaches
• Cost-benefit analysis/value for money assessments 
• A strong understanding of the homelessness and housing policy environment across the UK (not just England),
• A strong understanding of related policy areas including but not limited to health and clinical support, education and skills, employment, benefits and poverty, social relationships, etc. 

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How the panel will work - Terms of reference

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‍Scope 

• Peer Reviewers will provide additional scrutiny and independent commentary to improve the credibility of studies, in line with CHI Evaluation Pillars.

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‍Membership

• CHI will appoint Peer Reviewers based on an assessment of their methodological and subject knowledge.
• CHI reserves the right to refresh the panel at any time.
• Members of the panel will be experts in a range of methodological approaches, with a good understanding of homelessness and housing, as well as related policy areas.
• Members of the panel will be abreast with relevant methodological innovations, as well as CHI Guidance. 

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Payment

• CHI will aim to compensate Peer Reviewers for their time at the rates specified below. Payments are expected to be made 30 days after an invoice is received.

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• Invoices should be submitted to accountsp@homelessnessimpact.org specifying the project for which peer review was conducted.

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Confidentiality

• Peer Reviewers will keep all drafts, and their involvement and communication strictly confidential. 

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Process for peer review

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Invitation to conduct a peer review:

• CHI will select Peer Reviewers from our reviewer pool based on expertise (methods, subject). These potential reviewers will be invited to review the documentation by a specific date (usually two weeks, but in some cases a shorter turn-around might be required).
• Interested Peer Reviewers should respond stating their interest. Reviews will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• After being confirmed, CHI will share relevant documentation as well as a copy of relevant methodological guidance.
• Those with a perceived conflict of interest should abstain themselves, or disclose it for the CHI team to decide if it is appropriate to act as a reviewer.

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Conducting a review:

• Peer Reviewers shall summarise their main recommendations, and offer specific comments through the document as comments. Peer Reviewers shall ensure that comments are clear, constructive, actionable and aligned with CHI guidance and best practice.
• Where comments from more than one reviewer are necessary, CHI will collate and moderate reviewers’ feedback. Comments will be anonymised before sharing with the Evaluation Team.
• For final reports, Peer Reviewers will be asked to complete an Independent Risk of Bias assessment relevant international standards depending on the method used (e.g. Cochrane’s Risk of Bias assessment for Randomised Controlled Trials)

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After a review is completed:

• Peer Reviewers may have to respond to occasional clarifications from CHI or the Evaluation Team. This will not be subject to additional compensation.
• Peer Reviewers might be identified in confidential correspondence to external funders (e.g. DLUHC). This information will not be disclosed to the relevant Evaluation team. 

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How to apply 

To apply, please complete this very short survey about your experience and areas of interest, including your CV. 

If you have any questions please get in touch with Guillermo@homelessnessimpact.org with the subject line ‘Peer Review Panel’. 

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Timeline

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Links to relevant CHI guidance

You can find links to the most recent methodological guidance here, under the section ‘Apply to Evaluate a project’.