Vocational rehabilitation: what works and in what circumstances

This paper examines a variety of forms of evidence used to find the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation interventions. We begin by looking at general unemployment literature and then study the detailed findings of a research project that examined the employment experiences of disabled people, carried out by one of the authors. We then report on a recent evaluation of an innovative vocational rehabilitation scheme. Here, following the approach recommended by Pawson and Tilley (1997), we consider the views of one of the project 'stakeholders' concerning the 'theories' underlying the design of the project. In conclusion we encapsulate some of the knowledge, or evidence, emerging from these diverse sources in configurations of contexts, mechanisms and outcomes, as advocated by Pawson and Tilley.