Evidence that informs better decisions.
JLA brings together research, professional standards, statutory guidance and practice insight to support thoughtful decisions about people, learning, leadership, safety and organisational development.
This library shows some of the evidence underpinning the way we design, assemble, deliver and evaluate our work.
Evidence rarely gives organisations a single universal answer. It helps define what is known, what remains uncertain and which factors deserve attention.
JLA combines credible external evidence with professional expertise, organisational context and the requirements of the people and services involved.
Search the evidence behind our work.
Search by topic, source, sector or the capability the evidence supports.
Evidence search
Results appear here instantly and take you directly to the full evidence record below.
Research, standards and guidance.
Each record identifies what the source can reasonably support. Where evidence has important limitations, those limitations are reflected rather than hidden.
Learning, design & evaluation
Evidence informing Training Needs Analysis, programme design, learning transfer and evaluation.
Learning needs analysis
CIPD describes clear, systematic and ongoing identification of learning needs, aligned with organisational performance requirements, as an important part of effective learning and development. This supports JLA’s use of TNA before selecting or designing an intervention.
Leadership training design, delivery and implementation
Analysis of 335 independent samples found positive effects across learning, transfer and results. Effects varied with programme design and implementation; moderator analysis supported needs analysis, feedback, practice and appropriate delivery methods.
Training transfer and organisational context
Review evidence indicates that networks and communication, organisational culture, implementation climate and readiness can influence whether learning transfers into everyday practice. This supports attention to the environment around training, not only the training event itself.
The role of work environment in training sustainment
This meta-analysis examined peer, supervisor and organisational support in relation to training transfer and sustainment. It supports JLA’s focus on the conditions that help learning continue beyond initial delivery.
Magenta Book: central government guidance on evaluation
The 2026 Magenta Book positions proportionate, high-quality evaluation as important to accountability, decision-making and iterative improvement. It supports designing evaluation alongside programmes rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Leadership, coaching & culture
Evidence relevant to leadership development, executive coaching, psychological safety, speaking up and workplace culture.
Effects of executive coaching on behaviour, attitudes and personal characteristics
Meta-analysis of controlled studies found positive effects across several coaching outcomes, with behavioural outcomes particularly prominent. Reported effects also included self-efficacy, psychological capital and resilience.
Psychological safety in healthcare practice settings
This systematic review examined essential elements and outcomes of psychological safety across healthcare practice teams. It supports psychological safety as an important component of teamwork and learning, while JLA avoids treating it as a single causal explanation for every organisational outcome.
Defining speaking up in the healthcare system
This systematic review examines how speaking up is defined in healthcare. It provides useful evidence for work around communication, raising concerns, hierarchy and the conditions in which staff voice can be supported.
Good medical practice 2024
GMC standards place greater emphasis on respectful, fair and supportive workplaces, clear communication, leadership behaviours and cultures in which staff can ask questions, discuss errors and raise concerns safely.
Mental wellbeing at work
NICE recommends preventive organisational approaches, supportive and inclusive workplace environments, active leadership, good communication and systematic training and support for managers. It also emphasises tailoring interventions to organisational context.
Communication, teamwork & professional practice
Evidence supporting communication, team development, multidisciplinary working and professional practice.
Communication quality and patient safety incidents
Review of 46 studies found poor communication frequently featured in patient-safety incidents. The authors rated the underlying evidence as low or very low certainty because of heterogeneity and study quality, so the findings should inform practice without being overstated.
Teamwork and performance in healthcare teams
Meta-analysis of healthcare teams found a positive relationship between teamwork processes and clinical performance. This supports JLA’s focus on communication, coordination and team development alongside individual capability.
NMC Code: communication, evidence and cooperative working
The Code requires nurses, midwives and nursing associates to practise in line with available evidence, communicate clearly, check understanding, maintain effective communication with colleagues, share information to reduce risk and support professional learning.
Framework for interprofessional education and collaborative practice
WHO’s framework identifies interprofessional collaboration as an important approach to strengthening health systems and workforce practice. It provides a recognised foundation for using complementary professional expertise where complex work crosses disciplines.
Behaviour, safety & restrictive practice
External standards and guidance underpinning person-centred behaviour support, prevention, de-escalation and restrictive-practice reduction.
Violence and aggression: prevention, de-escalation and restrictive interventions
NICE recommends person-centred approaches, staff training in psychosocial prevention, understanding why behaviour may escalate, verbal de-escalation, post-incident learning and organisational programmes to reduce restrictive interventions.
Challenging behaviour and learning disabilities
NICE emphasises developing a shared functional understanding of behaviour, identifying communication and environmental factors, proactive strategies, personalised support and least-restrictive responses.
Restraint Reduction Network Training Standards
The RRN Training Standards focus on human rights, person-centred support, prevention, de-escalation, reflective practice and reduction of unnecessary restrictive practices.
Timian Learning and Development: Bild ACT certification record
Bild ACT currently lists Timian Learning and Development as a Certified Training Service, identifies its certified curricula and lists James Hourihan among its Senior Trainers.
Safeguarding, trauma & workforce support
Guidance and research relevant to safeguarding, trauma-informed approaches, workforce wellbeing and manager capability.
Trauma-informed care implementation
This systematic review of reviews and realist synthesis examines implementation of trauma-informed care in healthcare settings. It supports trauma-informed practice as an organisational approach involving multiple components, while outcome evidence should not be overstated.
Training managers to understand and support employee mental health
Review of controlled trials found manager training improved mental-health knowledge, attitudes and self-reported supportive behaviour. Evidence about effects on employee psychological symptoms was much more limited.
Care and support statutory guidance: safeguarding training
Care Act statutory guidance sets expectations for safeguarding training across organisational levels, including specialist and managerial training, regular updating, supervision and reflective practice.
Working together to safeguard children 2026
Current statutory guidance sets expectations for multi-agency working to help, support and protect children. The 2026 version reinforces shared responsibility, partnership structures and multidisciplinary working around children and families.
Procurement, associates & accountable delivery
Evidence and statutory procurement material relevant to JLA assembling multidisciplinary associate teams, relying on specialist capability and acting as lead supplier.
Supplier selection and reliance on associated suppliers
Government guidance expressly recognises consortium members and first-tier subcontractors relied upon to satisfy conditions of participation. Where a supplier cannot satisfy a condition alone, it may use a joint tender, consortium or legally binding subcontracting arrangement with a supplier that satisfies the requirement.
Procurement Act 2023: conditions of participation
The Act’s explanatory notes confirm that where a supplier relies on another associated supplier to meet conditions of participation, the contracting authority is to treat the supplier as satisfying the condition to the extent the associated supplier satisfies it.
Contract governance and the lead supplier
Procurement Act contract-governance guidance distinguishes the lead supplier from its subcontractors and makes the lead supplier the supplier assessed for contract performance. This supports JLA’s model of one accountable delivery structure when JLA holds the contract.
Turning evidence into useful practice.
JLA Insights explore what research, regulation and professional standards mean for leaders, teams and organisations in practice.
Government guidance on restrictive interventions in schools
An exploration of the changing expectations around restrictive intervention in education and what they mean for school leaders, workforce preparation and organisational practice.
Read the insightHealing After the Crisis
Exploring trauma-informed debriefing and post-incident learning within education.
Read the insightHow to Avoid Abusive Care Practices
An exploration of ethical decision-making, safeguarding and the conditions that support safer person-centred care.
Read the insightResearch is part of the decision, not a substitute for judgement.
Good organisational development brings evidence together with professional expertise, the people involved and the realities of the environment in which change must work.
Evidence
We look at credible research, regulation, professional standards and recognised guidance.
Context
We consider the workforce, service, risks, culture, operating environment and outcomes the organisation needs.
Expertise
We bring the right professional perspectives together and apply evidence with informed judgement rather than formula.
Sources are reviewed and expanded as new evidence, standards and guidance become available. External organisations remain responsible for their own publications and may update them independently. Library review point: September 2026.
Evidence matters most when it improves decisions and practice.
If your organisation is reviewing workforce development, leadership, training, culture or a complex programme requirement, JLA can help turn the evidence into a practical response.