Our researcher support offer
We want to support academic researchers to produce high-quality research, work with people accessing and delivering care and support, and make research findings accessible and relevant to people working in social care.
Researchers often ask us to support them with their applications for research funding and for help with designing and carrying out their research.
As a result, we've developed a researcher support offer. On this page, you’ll find more information on the different ways we can support academic researchers.
Get support for your research funding bid
We can provide support for your research funding bids. You can find further information on our dedicated page for research funding.
Connect with practitioners about your research
The Evidence Community brings together practitioners, researchers, people with lived experience and those with a shared passion and interest in social care research and evidence.
The Evidence Community and our partnership lead roles within the Research, Data and Innovation (RDI) team can help connect researchers to practitioners, local authorities and other organisations that are interested in supporting social care research.
As a researcher in the Evidence Community, you can:
- join our online platform to discuss and share up to date research with others passionate about social care research
- connect with other community members to co-produce research proposals
- connect and discuss with practitioners and policy makers around specific topics or themes and help embed research findings in practice
- attend and deliver workshops and events, like communities of enquiry and our ‘reflecting on evidence’ sessions.
Get support with designing your study
As part of the Evidence Community, our research conversations workshops provide a space for researchers to share their research or research ideas with practitioners. They have an open format for researchers to shape their own workshop with Evidence Community members.
These events also create opportunities for researchers to use the Evidence Community as a sounding board. This can help connect researchers to a range of practitioners and get feedback on aspects of research design or proposals related to social care practice.
In partnership with our colleagues in Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP), we can also explore the design of your study through relationship style approaches such as most significant change (MSC) and appreciative enquiry.
Search for research project ideas
We work collaboratively with people accessing and delivering social care to identify priority research topics. We share these priorities with researchers and funders to encourage new research.
If you're looking for research project ideas, you can find more information on our Research priority setting page and in our Working together to make decisions on research blog.
Get advice and help on linked data research
As part of our leadership role for ADR Wales we provide the following support for researchers who are interested in carrying out linked data research on social care, particularly adult social care:
- an adult social care linked data research group
- PhD placement opportunities
- opportunities for involvement in our research priority setting exercise.
Adult social care linked data research group
The group brings together researchers who are using, or interested in using, linked data research in their work.
We hold regular meetings and organise events for the group. We also support the group with funding bids. The group has an online meeting and collaboration space to share ideas and learning. You can follow our registration process for the Evidence Community (where our group is hosted) on our communities sign up page. If you need help with this process contact communities@socialcare.wales.
PhD placements
We'll give eligible students a paid opportunity to gain practical experience and develop personal and professional skills. We’ll mentor successful candidates and help them grow networks and connections as well as an increased understanding of the social care landscape in Wales.