Tom Ling has over 25 years of experience in designing, managing and delivering complex evaluations Since 2014 he has been in the position “Head of Evaluation” at RAND Europe and is also a senior research leader there. He leads evaluations and applied research focused on the key challenges facing organisations in health, well[1]being, and development.
Before re-joining RAND, Tom was head of Impact Innovation and Evidence at Save the Children (2012-2014) where his responsibilities included ensuring that evaluations contribute to policy and change in the challenging environment of international development. Prior to Save the Children, Ling spent 10 years at RAND Europe as director for Evaluation and Performance Audit following four years as senior research fellow at the National Audit Office in the UK. Before that he taught and researched in various universities.
He has contributed to research projects with the European Commission, Save the Children, UK government departments, the National Audit Office, the Health Foundation in the UK and many others. He has published widely on evaluation, accountability, and related topics. He also co-edited Performance Audit: Contributing to Accountability in Democratic Government (London: Edward Elgar), following his Performance Audit Handbook and The Evidence Book, a critical examination of the use of evidence in public policy and service delivery.
Most commonly his evaluations have been mixed methods evaluations, often combining impact evaluations with process evaluations. These have included the evaluation of the Integrated Care Pilots using a difference in differences approach and supporting the design of a stepped wedge evaluation for an integrated nutrition programme.