New evidence-based adult care centre to drive innovation

The University of Birmingham has been announced as the lead partner of a brand new Centre for adult social care, which will aim to put evidence into practice to promote and maintain people’s independence and wellbeing.

The new Centre called IMPACT (Improving Adult Care Together) has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and the Health Foundation, and will be the first Centre of its kind in the UK.

The Centre will focus on helping people working in adult social care, carers, and the people they support make better use of high-quality, practice-based evidence to support innovation in adult social care.

IMPACT will receive funding of £15 million over the next six years, with equal contributions from ESRC and the Health Foundation. Check out the fact sheet here. 

Join us for a live panel discussion (3.30-4.15pm, 20th May) featuring Adult Care Directors from Local Government. 

(Free for public sector.)

The joint venture between ESRC and the Health Foundation allows the two organisations to pool their expertise to help lead innovation and the spread of successful ideas to support the improvement of care beyond traditional boundaries. 

Jon Glasby, Professor of Health and Social Care at the University of Birminghan has been appointed as IMPACT’s Director and will be working with a range of partners from across the UK to lead the co-development, establishment and delivery of the centre.

“Adult social care touches people’s lives in such important and intimate ways, and it’s crucial that it’s based on the best possible evidence of what works,” said Glasby. “Good care isn’t just about services, it’s about having a life – and the ESRC and the Health Foundation are providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a real difference.”

“The complex nature of the social care system means that frontline practice does not always benefit sufficiently from the evidence we already have about what works,” explained Professor Alison Park, ESRC Executive Chair. “The increased implementation of evidence-based innovations and improvements in adult social care are crucial to ensuring better outcomes for the many people who use these services, and their carers and families. Finding a way to make this happen is challenging – but the prize, in terms of improvements to adult social care, makes it essential.”

The fragmented nature of the adult social care sector poses real challenges for ensuring the consistent provision of evidence-based, high quality care and support.

The IMPACT Centre will work alongside people with experience of care, carers, commissioners and providers to develop practical support that will increase the use of high-quality research evidence in the adult social care sector across the UK.

Recognising the combined value of good practice and robust evidence from different sources, the Centre will bring together people with lived experience of social care, those providing unpaid care, people working in adult social care, experts in the mobilisation and implementation of evidence, social care providers, commissioners and policy experts, and academic teams from across the UK.

Together with stakeholders in adult social care and beyond, the IMPACT team will agree priorities and design, establish, deliver and evaluate the Centre’s work programme, aiming to lead to sustainable change in the use of evidence in adult social care.

Join us for a live panel discussion (3.30-4.15pm, 20th May) featuring Local Government Adult Care Directors. 

(Free for public sector.)