Debated in Parliament on 15 Oct 2025.
Ms Elysa Chen asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what monitoring and evaluation frameworks are used to track the outcomes and equity of Government-funded social service programmes; and (b) whether findings from these assessments have informed recent policy modifications.
At the macro level, we analyse key population outcomes, such as social mobility trends, marriage and cohort dissolution rates, and preschool cohort enrolment rate, to ensure progress in our social outcomes.
At the programme level, we monitor various key performance indicators, ranging from process, output, to outcome indicators, to ensure that programme objectives are met. This also includes reviewing if our programmes effectively reach clients who require the support. Certain programmes are also subject to more rigorous evaluation, using appropriate research methodologies.
For example, MSF had partnered the Centre for Evidence and Implementation to conduct an evaluation study of KidSTART. The study found that parents and caregivers who received KidSTART home visitation had more positive, quality parent-child interactions and were more confident to support their children's development. KidSTART children also showed improved child development outcomes and more prosocial behaviours by three years old. These findings, which were made public at the 2024 Asian Family Conference organised by MSF, contributed to the policy decision to scale KidSTART nationwide, as well as programme refinements.
To enhance outcome measurement and reporting in the social service sector, the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) launched the Sector Evaluation Framework in 2021. The framework provides a common language for different stakeholders in the sector to measure programme outcomes, track progress of service users and articulate impact. NCSS recently published the first Youth Development Outcomes Report that compared the efficacy of nine different youth programmes, which demonstrated the importance of programme fidelity in achieving outcomes.
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