Helping the Human Tissue Authority have greater impact

The challenge

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is the independent regulator for the removal, storage, use and disposal of human tissue across the UK. By fostering an environment of trust, the HTA hopes people will donate tissue for scientific and medical research, organs for transplants, and in doing those things, enable healthcare to flourish.

The HTA asked Kaleidoscope to do a rapid appraisal of their impact and make recommendations for improvement.

Our approach

Our starting point was a review of the HTA’s impact evidence. This gave us insight into what data existed and how impact was currently monitored. We conducted interviews with senior leaders and operational teams to explore perceptions of impact and approaches to measurement.

Bringing the evidence together enabled us to map the HTA’s activities to intended impacts and populate a draft theory of change. Equipped with a deeper understanding of impact opportunities, we designed a series of workshops and semi-structured interviews with the HTA’s stakeholders to test the theory of change and gather evidence of impact.

We gathered insights from a wide group of stakeholders in participative events, using direct questions in breakout rooms, chat questions, polls, plenary discussion as well as by observing the interactions and behaviours between participants. These workshops also served as opportunity for external stakeholders to connect and share learnings.

An essential step was assessing the counterfactual – what would happen without the HTA’s interventions? We explored this through an interactive workshop, using case studies to examine scenarios such as unregulated tissue collection or variable standards in organ donation. Comparing the counterfactual to current practice highlighted where the HTA’s impact was most significant.

Using the evidence and data we had gathered, we produced tailored recommendations spanning strategy, measurement frameworks, stakeholder engagement and organisational culture.

Results

Our report has provided the evidence base for the HTA’s upcoming five-year strategy. Operationally, it is enabling the organisation to think ‘big picture’ about the way it operates on a day-to-day basis.

Our collaborative, insight-driven approach has equipped the HTA to continually improve as an impact-focused regulator. This work will help them move forward in a number of ways including their workforce planning, and optimising digital data and technology.

The HTA now has the material it needs to evidence its vital role and maximise the difference it makes across the sensitive landscape of human tissue use.

Kaleidoscope engaged a wide range of stakeholders constructively and reported the data using practical framing. Our board and leadership team have found the Kaleidoscope work very helpful in informing our strategic thinking and growth as an organisation.

Anjeli Kara, Head of Policy and Development at the Human Tissue Authority