Piloting Alternative Electoral Canvassing Models

This document describes an evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of alternative canvass models for maintaining electoral registers in Great Britain, comparing them to the traditional annual canvass process. The new methods, including Household Notification Letters (HNL), Email, Discernment, and Telephone canvassing, were assessed through Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) across various local authorities. The evaluation focused on the quality and volume of information collected, cost implications, and the impact on register accuracy and completeness. Results showed that telephone and email canvassing were as effective as traditional methods but more cost-efficient, while HNL and discernment models saved costs but were less effective in capturing household changes. The study concludes that alternative models offer potential cost savings and operational benefits, but concerns remain about their impact on the quality of the electoral register, highlighting the need for a robust evidence base for future reforms. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Cabinet Office
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: Cluster RCT
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: June 2018

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes