Building a Research Culture in Adult Social Care
Our vision: a research-active region where evidence, lived experience and practitioner insight improve adult social care outcomes, assurance & innovation.
WM ADASS has developed an ambitious approach to building research culture across adult social care and seeks to embed research, evidence, practitioner expertise and lived experience within the wider regional improvement infrastructure, rather than positioning research as a separate academic activity.
Our model brings together local authorities, universities, research infrastructure partners, practitioners and people with lived experience around a shared commitment to Research-Led Improvement. Its distinctive contribution is the effort to create the conditions in which research can flourish: visible leadership, dedicated facilitation, practical networks, stronger data capability, meaningful co-production and deliberate communication.
West Midlands ADASS is building on the ambitious journey it began in 2020 to unlock the power of research to shape adult social care in collaboration with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) the University of Birmingham and other partners.
Our vision and purpose reframes research as a shared endeavour. Practitioners are not only recipients of research evidence; they are contributors to knowledge. People with lived experience are not only participants; they are partners in shaping priorities, methods and interpretation. Universities and research partners are not simply external experts; they are collaborators in a regional improvement system.
The programme is developing, and we have an ambitious plan for 2026/27 illustrated in our logic model:
This includes mobilisation and infrastructure, network building, capability development, and consolidation through impact evaluation and dissemination.
We have expanded our Research Team, with new research facilitators working together with our partners in the West Midlands Social Care Research Development Group to achieve our ambition.
We have 2 focused workstreams:
VOICES - led by our Coproduction Lead and Research Facilitator, is our work to build research capacity and capability between people with lived experience, practitioners, and universities.
AND
CONNECT – led by our Research Engagement Lead and Research Facilitators is our work to build research capacity and capability between practitioners and universities, through Communities of Practice, Continuous Professional Development (CPD with Me), navigating, coaching and mentoring support for research opportunities.
We provide research resources, hold events and help to navigate research opportunities through partners.
We are bringing our work together to present and disseminate through case studies and collaborations in a West Midlands Social Care Research Conference to be held in March 2027.
Social Care Research is all about:
- the way we listen
- the way we identify patterns
- the way we weigh evidence
- the way we involve people with lived experience
- the way we reflect and adapt our practice.
If you are curious about our work and want to engage with our ambitious programme, please do get in touch at info@wm-adass.org.uk