Using storytelling for change in health, care and well-being services - DEEP

What is the project?

Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP) worked with partners to build a national research community of academics, policy makers and practitioners around storytelling.

Thanks to funding from a Wales Innovation Network (WIN) grant, DEEP worked with Wrexham University and other Welsh universities to plan a free in-person event in Wrexham to support this community.

The event offered networking and research development opportunities around the role of storytelling in social care, health, and community development.

Why was it carried out?

A central feature of DEEP is the use of story and dialogue-based methods in research, learning and development.

Working with Social Care Wales, DEEP is building a more strategic approach to storytelling methods, including creating storytelling networks.

The storytelling network involves researchers from across the UK, practitioners, people with lived experience and organisational managers and policy makers in Wales. The network has already helped support and develop thinking around research, policy and practice development.

Over the past three years, DEEP and Social Care Wales have been exploring storytelling methods to support well-being, evaluation and learning.

A two-day online event was first held in September 2022, where over 100 people registered to attend, followed by two successful in-person events in 2023 and early 2024.

Who was involved?

Key partners in developing and delivering the project include Swansea University, Cardiff University, University of South Wales, Wrexham University, University of Durham, Mencap Cymru, Pembrokeshire Council, and Neath Port Talbot Council.

What have they learned from the work?

The project was a collaboration between academics, policy makers, public and third sector colleagues to explore how storytelling can be used as a method for change in health, care and well-being services in Wales. We’ve developed a new resource as a result of learning from this project. Keep an eye out as we’ll be launching the Storytelling framework for social care in Wales in 2025.