I like to think of Adult Social Care Data as a way of describing lived experience through numbers.
Richard Humphries, ADASS Trustee and WM-ADASS Associate
Our approach to using data underpins our Improvement for All Programme and is part of our regional objective to create a shared, trusted, evidence base that drives assurance, learning and innovation.
At the centre of our work is the West Midlands Adult Social Care Data Hub, a shared regional platform providing dashboards, benchmarking and insight across performance, finance, care markets, workforce, population need and regulatory assurance. By working collectively across all 14 councils, we reduce duplication, create a more consistent view of performance and help identify emerging risks and opportunities earlier.
Our current work includes:
- In-year benchmarking, providing timely comparisons across key adult social care datasets, including ASCOF, Client Level Data, carers, surveys and DoLS.
- Workforce intelligence, helping councils understand agency use, workforce pressures, costs and potential risks to local care markets.
- Market oversight, linking council, provider, workforce and population data to support commissioning, contingency planning and earlier identification of market instability.
- CQC assurance and improvement, helping councils use evidence to understand performance, strengthen assurance narratives and focus improvement activity.
- Data learning and capability, providing tools, resources, workshops and peer learning so that leaders, commissioners and practitioners can use insight effectively.
- Research and innovation, working with the University of Birmingham and national partners to explore predictive analytics, care market change, inequalities and the responsible use of qualitative and unstructured information.
Our approach combines shared technology with practical support. We work with councils to interpret findings, identify priority questions and embed data into real leadership, commissioning, workforce and operational decisions. Wherever possible, we use existing data and infrastructure rather than creating additional reporting requirements.
Through regional collaboration, shared standards and applied learning, we are helping councils move from retrospective reporting towards more proactive, evidence-led decision-making. This strengthens regional resilience, supports Care Act responsibilities and CQC readiness, and helps ensure that adult social care resources are focused where they can make the greatest difference.
This work is supported by our Performance and Knowledge Network with DASS support provided by Pete Sidgwick. It also links to the work we are being funded for by Skills for Care Impact Fund.