Research: harnessing evidence to transform adult social care
In 2020, West Midlands ADASS began an ambitious journey to unlock the power of research in shaping adult social care and supporting people to live “gloriously ordinary” lives.
Image from the project Real People - Real Lives
Since then, WM ADASS has worked alongside the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the University of Birmingham to develop a sustainable research culture and infrastructure for adult social care across the West Midlands.
The importance of building a research culture in local authority adult social care has been nationally recognised. In 2022/23, the Chief Social Worker Lyn Romeo made research a top priority, and together with the British Association of Social Workers published a Charter for Adult Social Care Research, spotlighting WM ADASS as one of just three national examples of best practice.
WM ADASS secured NIHR funding to:
- Appoint three research champions
- Ensure people with lived experience are central to shaping research
An in-depth study by the Research Champions revealed clear barriers to research engagement in local authorities, yet also uncovered a strong appetite for change across the region.
Building on that momentum, WM ADASS is driving forward:
- Awareness campaigns, training, and events
- Practical support for social care staff to engage with research
- Greater access to research evidence
Now, with a joint successful bid to the West Midlands Applied Research Collaboration (WM ARC), WM ADASS and the University of Birmingham have scaled up their efforts and appointed:
- An Embedded Research Fellow
- A Research Engagement Lead
- Two Research Champions for Occupational Therapy to develop an IMPACT demonstrator project
- A Research Champion with Birmingham Voluntary Services Council to amplify research within Black and Minority communities
Use this link to access details of the full research programme team
Oversight is provided by the Social Care Research Development Group, which will drive the programme forward with an ambitious 2025/26 workplan:
- Developing Research Communities of Practice for practitioners and commissioners (Patrick Hall & Sandra Simpson)
- Real People Real Lives – Community Researchers (Surrinder Bains)
- Occupational Therapy IMPACT demonstrator project (Alicia Ridout & Jane Clark)
- Develop a Regional Research Governance and Ethics Framework
- Identify Research Priorities in Social Care
- Focus on two research studies (Patrick Hall)
- Preparation and regional participation in Integrated Care Conference 2026
- Applications for future research funding