The social care research and development strategy for Wales 2018-2023
Reflections by Assistant Director Lisa Trigg on the important work that was delivered as part of the previous social care research strategy for Wales.
We’ll soon be launching Ymlaen, our new research, innovation and improvement strategy for social care in Wales, which we’ve developed in collaboration with a number of partners.
The new strategy replaces the Social care research and development strategy for Wales 2018-2023. The research strategy was based on five focus areas and some supporting actions, which we delivered in collaboration with our partners.
We thought we’d take the opportunity to highlight, and signpost to, some of the great work that happened under the banner of the first strategy.
Focus area two: research priorities
Social Care Wales and Health and Care Research Wales worked on two priority-setting projects together, in association with the James Lind Alliance (JLA). We used a new, quicker version of the JLA process. And we identified the pros and cons of using a different process.
The projects were on sustainable care and support for older adults and strengths-based approaches in family support services.
We’ve been working on answering the Top 10 research questions we identified for each of the two projects. And, as a result, we’re working with research funders to fund the right topics, ask for brand new research or for summaries of research.
We’ve already used what we learned from the projects to help form the programme of the research roadshow events we organised in 2023. We’re also using this work in our conversations about priorities with the new Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre.
Focus area four: developing the workforce and organisations
We started to understand more about the different research needs within the workforce. There are people working in practice who want to use and generate research to help them do their jobs better. But we also support people who want to develop careers in social care research.
The Wales School for Social Care Research ran a competitive capacity building scheme for local authorities. They awarded small grants (maximum of £10,000) to nine projects and matched a researcher to support each one.
Social Care Wales has been working with local authorities to identify their skills needs and we’re developing a framework to support the development of research, innovation and improvement skills in Wales.
We’ve also joined with the Developing Evidence-Enriched Practice (DEEP) programme to upskill practitioners with research skills and support them to be more ‘research confident’. DEEP is a caring and co-production approach that helps people use evidence in their work.
It’s an all-Wales project with staff based in Swansea University and Bangor University. Social Care Wales took over the funding of DEEP from Health and Care Research Wales in 2023.
Together we’ve developed the DEEP curriculum. It includes:
- gathering, appraising, and presenting evidence
- talking and learning together
- using evidence and putting learning into action
- creating enriched environments that support learning and leadership for learning.
With Health and Care Research Wales, we’ve recognised there could be better opportunities for people to develop research careers. Health and Care Research Wales explored this in their Making research careers work report and made recommendations for improving these opportunities.
At the same time, Health and Care Research Wales continued to fund social care researchers to develop their careers in social care research. They’ve funded 13 fellowships and 20 PhD studentships over the course of the strategy, as well as jointly funding PhD studentships with the Economic and Social Research Council. Health and Care Research Wales also funded 17 social care research grants, worth just over £4 million. You can find out more about this work at: Our funded projects | Health Care Research Wales (healthandcareresearchwales.org).
England’s National Institute of Health and Care Research has also opened more funding schemes to include researchers from Wales, including a new scheme to support adult and children’s social care research.
Health and Care Research Wales funded research capacity building with researchers from Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE), promoting existing resources to develop researchers in social care across Wales. The capacity building is now supported by researchers through the Health and Care Research Wales Faculty.
Focus area five: communicating and using research
Social Care Wales commissioned the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to carry out research about using evidence in social care in Wales, to help us build our approach to communicating and using research. We first focused on local authorities, researchers and policy makers, and then carried out a small piece of research in-house to gather the views of providers and commissioners.
We then used this research to develop an evidence offer to support local authorities, researchers and policymakers to access, use, share and generate research. And we’ve set up communities around different topics to connect people all over Wales, including our Evidence Community.
Health and Care Research Wales continues to fund ExChange, hosted by CASCADE. ExChange brings together researchers, practitioners and people who use care and support to share evidence and experiences. ExChange has delivered a broad range of leadership symposiums, conferences, and workshops, as well as resources, blogs, videos and podcasts.
Social Care Wales also worked with Digital Health and Care Wales to make the NHS e-library available for registered social care managers and social workers.
And there’s more…
Health and Care Research Wales continues to provide funding to support a number of related research centres, including CADR and CASCADE. In 2023, Health and Care Research Wales and Cardiff University set up the Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE), which is a huge boost for further developing the adult social care research landscape in Wales.
The Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) Cymru network is now funded by Health and Care Research Wales and hosted by CADR. It works closely with the national ENRICH networks and other similar networks across the UK. Its aim is to support and facilitate the growth of health and social care research in care homes across Wales.
Welsh Government is funding 10 Regional Innovation Coordination Hubs around Wales, with the aim of coordinating research, innovation and improvement activity around how health and social care services can work together better. Welsh Government also funds Intensive Learning Academies to develop health and social care leadership capability.
Looking ahead
Many years of reduced public spending means a reduction in the people and financial resources needed by local authorities to create a research-minded culture.
What we’re trying to do is put the resources and tools in place that will make it easier for people working in social care to access, understand, use, and generate different types of evidence.
We’re really proud of what we achieved with our partners during our previous strategy. And now we’re looking forward to building on those successes in our next programme of work.
Take a look at our new Ymlaen strategy to see what’s we’re doing now and what we plan to do.
Get in touch
We welcome your views on our Ymlaen strategy. If you’d like to share your feedback or learn more, email us at: insightcollective@socialcare.wales.