What is the Evidence Pie?

A simple way to understand and use different types of evidence for better decisions.

Why is the Evidence Pie important?

When councils and public services make decisions, they affect people’s health and wellbeing. Good decisions need good evidence—but “evidence” means different things to different people. The Evidence Pie makes it clear and fair by showing all the types of evidence that matter.

Staff and volunteers in organisations across the country are using the Evidence Pie to help them assess where they have strong evidence and where they need more expertise.

What’s in the Pie?

1. Lived Experience
   Real stories and experiences from people in the community.
2. Professional Insight
   What professionals know from their day-to-day work.
3. Research and Publications
   Studies and findings from universities, government, or researchers.
4. Population and Place Data
   Facts and figures about people and places - like age, gender, and trends.
5. Organisational Data
   Information about services and how they perform.
6. Evaluation and Impact
   Evidence showing what works and what difference it makes.

How does the Evidence Pie help?

• Helps identify gaps in evidence.
• Builds confidence for staff and elected members.
• Makes decisions more transparent and fair.

Why is this good for everyone?

• For Residents: Your voice matters in decisions.
• For Services: Helps improve planning and delivery.
• For Councils: Creates stronger, evidence-based policies.

The Evidence Pie IS

• Designed to support conversations about evidence for any decision
• A tool to help us think about the forms evidence can take
• A positive tool which often leads to the realisation that we are already using a wide range of evidence
• Representing the wide range of evidence we should be engaging with, and where we may have gaps in our knowledge that other people or organisations could help us with
• Adaptable to reflect your organisation’s language and examples

The Evidence Pie is NOT

• New!
• Untested
• Stating that all six types of evidence should always be used

How do I start using the Evidence Pie?

There is a lot of great practice in our organisations. The Evidence Pie is a tool to help us ensure reliable evidence is used consistently to inform our services that help local residents. Here are some ways you can start using the Pie to expand your insight:

1. Download the Pie from these resources:

• Introducing the Evidence Pie handout (PDF 2.73MB)

2. Reflect on which types of evidence you, your team or service are strongest in. Do not expect to be experts in all types.
3. Consider all the types of evidence equally. Where you know you have gaps in specific types of evidence, find out who you could  invite to help you find that evidence to inform your decisions
4. Use the Pie with colleagues and other organisations to discuss what you think ‘evidence’ is, and if there is a type of evidence you have always wanted to gather.
5. Add the Pie to your meeting agendas or resources. It is a reminder for anyone to help check what evidence is being presented and where there may be more available.
6. As you talk about evidence in more detail, other issues will need to be discussed. These include the quality or robustness of a piece of evidence; where there may be bias in the evidence; and what to do if different pieces of evidence disagree with each other. Be open about any concerns, agree how significant these concerns may be, and ask colleagues for guidance with these.

Finally, we can use the Evidence Pie as part of our decision making process. We know that influences on decisions vary based on context and different influences might be given different weight at different times. For example, resources, community values and political judgement. Using the Evidence Pie can help open discussions between colleagues and different organisations.

Want to dive deeper?

We will add case studies here on how it is used. Please let us know where it has helped you.

The Evidence Pie has been developed by NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Southampton; adapted from Lewing, Gross, and Molloy ‘Early Intervention Foundation’ (2022).

Rhondda Cynon Taf HDRC has a webinar where they introduce their Evidence Pie, as well as case studies.

Additional Information