How we can support people to apply knowledge to practice

06 August 2025

Emma Taylor-Hill, our knowledge mobilisation lead, reflects on the team’s recent and planned areas of work.

Our new Insight Collective page

We launched our Apply knowledge to practice page in June to showcase how we help people use research and evidence in their work.

Since then, we’ve had many requests for tailored sessions on topics that are important to people working in social care.

Our approach

Our offer includes a variety of creative approaches, where we can provide a private and safe space for teams, groups, and multi-disciplinary colleagues to come together to explore research and evidence.

"We’ve had a busy few months and we’re excited to share our offer with a wider audience. We want to help people working in the sector bring research and evidence into practice in a way that best supports their particular needs and challenges."
– Emma Taylor-Hill, Knowledge mobilisation lead.

A snapshot of what we do

Our recent work gives you a glimpse of the kind of support we can provide.

Research conversations: positive risk taking

This session was for an evidence-enriched practice group made up of health and social care staff. Dr Catherine Poulter shared research evidence and the group was supported to explore dementia-related risk through case studies.

Research skills session: personality disorder

The session, for a complex disability team and local community mental health team, showed how research skills can be used in practice. We shared knowledge and explored bias and assumptions about personality disorder. This encouraged reflection on using communication skills to adopt a relational approach and work in a person-centred way.

Apply knowledge to practice information session

We ran this session for a group of newly qualified social workers. We shared our offer and promoted access to the NHS e-library. Helping them apply knowledge to practice supports the requirements of their Consolidation Programme to use research as part of their critical reflection and continued development.

Tailored support: Transitional Safeguarding

We held this session as part of a development day for students and social workers who had qualified in the last three years. We used insights from our 2025 research roadshows on the topic.

What’s coming up?

We’ve got more sessions in the pipeline in the coming months.

Community of enquiry: learning from lived experience: This session will be held with an adult services team.
Reflecting on evidence: supporting decision making around referrals for residential placements: This session will form part of service development days for adult services teams. We’ll tailor the session to the needs of the group by finding out what skills, knowledge, and values they may need to develop in this area.
Research roadshows: new events for autumn 2025: Following interest from regional safeguarding boards, we’ll deliver more sessions on Transitional Safeguarding in Cwm Taf and West Glamorgan, with more roadshows planned for spring 2026.

Get in touch

Want to know more or book a session with us?

Email us at: knowledgemobilisation@socialcare.wales.

Blog written by

Emma Taylor-Hill

Knowledge mobilisation lead

I'm the knowledge mobilisation lead at Social Care Wales and sit within the knowledge mobilisation team. My role is all about finding ways to support people to get evidence into practice, and to link the worlds of practice and research so we can make sense of evidence together.

Before joining Social Care Wales, I worked for Carmarthenshire local authority in the learning and development team. Working with newly qualified social workers and running a Research in Practice group were my favourite parts of that role.