Building Research Capacity in Social Care

The importance of more practice-based evidence

An effective health service is reliant on an effective social care system and it is therefore vital that we develop a robust research base for social care, to ensure that local authorities (LAs) and third sector organisations provide the most effective services within a wider integrated system of health and social care.

A solid infrastructure for RCD

Building health service research capacity in the UK is viewed as a core function planned through research and development, which support an organisational approach to building research capacity development (RCD) (Whitworth et al. 2012). RCD requires the support and development of sustainable abilities and skills to enable individuals and organisations to perform high quality research. This suggests that a culture of research can be fostered by a strong internal organisational infrastructure, which supports individual career planning and skills development (Gee and Cooke, 2018).

The challenge

There is currently a lack of a systematic approach to RCD across social care and a lack of research to illuminate best practice. Social care needs to develop its own system and research infrastructure to develop understanding of what works and why with improved pathways to impact, demonstrating the value added of good social care (Geoghegan and Fenge, 2022).

Helping to address the challenge

The need for a more integrated approach has been recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which has already supported the inclusion of social care with new roles and targeted funding streams. Currently a number of NIHR funded projects are in progress to explore the challenge of building research capacity in social care. These include a regional research network for RCD, embedded researchers, research practice partnerships, research in practice teams and the development of communities of practice.

Our Role

The NCCDSW has been contributing to this area of national research by helping to generate deeper insights into the challenges of building capacity to undertake social care research across the sector and the opportunities for building research engagement and capacity across Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and the social care sector in the Wessex region (Dorset, South Wiltshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight).

In 2022, Professor Lee-Ann Fenge and Dr Andy Pulman completed a study examining social care research enablers – which could help to build a positive research environment – and barriers – which might prevent or limit a positive research environment for practitioners.

More on this research (NCCDSW Blog)

In 2024, they completed work on an eighteen month follow-up project building on this initial scoping work, which included an in-depth research study exploring local recruitment and retention issues in adult social care (ASC) from a number of different perspectives.

More on this research (ARC Wessex)

Challenges of building capacity to undertake social care research

Developing a better understanding of the challenges of building capacity to undertake social care research in the Wessex region

In 2022, NCCDSW was commissioned to undertake a study – funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network (CRN) Wessex – to develop a better understanding of the challenges of building capacity to undertake social care research in the Wessex region and the opportunities for building research engagement and capacity.

Further reading – reports:

Building Capacity for Social Care Research (Enablers and barriers facing practitioners and HEI academic staff in Wessex) – Overall Executive Summary

Building Capacity for Social Care Research (Enablers and barriers facing HEI academic staff in Wessex) – Executive Summary

Building Capacity for Social Care Research (Enablers and barriers facing HEI academic staff in Wessex)

Building Capacity for Social Care Research (Enablers and barriers facing practitioners in Wessex) – Executive Summary

Building Capacity for Social Care Research (Enablers and barriers facing practitioners in Wessex)

Further reading – journal articles:

Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.-A., 2023. Building Capacity for Social Care Research—Individual-Level and Organisational Barriers Facing Practitioners. The British Journal of Social Work.

Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.-A., 2024. Building Capacity for Social Care Research – Ways of Improving Research Skills for Social Workers. Social Work Education.

Further viewing:

NIHR ARC Wessex Social Care Lunchtime Seminar – Building Research Capacity in Social Care (15/06/23)

Recruitment and retention in adult social care

Building social care research capacity and exploring local recruitment and retention issues in adult social care (ASC) from a number of different perspectives.

Within the Wessex region, we have been working to support the development of social care research over the past few years. In 2022, we completed a year-long study examining social care research enablers and barriers which might prevent or limit a positive research environment for practitioners (Pulman and Fenge, 2023).

This built the foundation for four projects across Wessex – funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex – which aimed to build research partnerships across local authorities (LAs) and universities in the region.

As part of these projects, separate funding was available to support research champions embedded within local authorities, to support activities such as lunch time research discussions, journal clubs and the development of practitioner focused research. To encourage buy-in from the LAs we developed research in partnership with them to respond to key priority areas.

Data for our project was collected between February 2023 and October 2023 and explored local recruitment and retention issues in ASC from the perspective of four populations of interest. We collected data from n=131 participants across the four populations of interest:

• Social care practitioners – social workers, allied health professionals, unregistered and other social care practitioners – currently working in ASC at two LAs
• Social care staff with responsibility for performing exit interviews with LA staff currently working at the two LAs
• Students currently enrolled in social work undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the Wessex region
• Service users with lived experience of receiving services in either LA and advocates drawn from Wessex Region LA contracted services

A number of outputs from this project can be viewed below.

Further reading – blogs:

A blog for World Social Work Day (19/03/24)

Further reading – journal articles:

Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.-A. 2024. The Evolving Workplace: The Possible Impacts of Hybrid Working and Hotdesking on Retention of Social Workers. The British Journal Of Social Work.

Pulman, A., Fenge, L.A., Mazarura, P. and Sanis, N. 2024. Struggling with studying and earning – realities of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis on students on social work programmes. Research in Post-compulsory Education.

Pulman, A., Sloan, H. and Fenge, L.-A. 2024. Advocacy in Practice: Who Advocates for the Advocates? Practice –
Social Work in Action.

Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.-A., 2024. Impacts of Workplace Stress on the Retention of Social Workers: A Qualitative Study. Practice – Social Work in Action.

Further reading – reports:

Recruitment and retention in adult social care Executive Summary. Bournemouth: NCCDSW, Bournemouth University.

Recruitment and retention in adult social care. Bournemouth: NCCDSW, Bournemouth University.

Further viewing:

NIHR ARC Wessex Social Care Lunchtime Seminar – Realities of adult social care recruitment and retention in 2023 (18/01/24)

Social Care Research in a Nutshell

What is research?

Research is all around us. As research participants, we know what it is like to be on the receiving end of a questionnaire or a survey. We live in a knowledge society, where information is easily collected, stored and analysed using computers and technology.

We take much of this for granted.

We rarely question rights to keep information about us and we assume that this information is essential for providing the services we receive and is used in beneficial and positive ways.

However, in professional roles, we need to understand how information is used and turned into evidence to inform practice. We also need to make judgements about the reliability of evidence and the way research is conducted if we are to develop as practitioners who deliver evidence based care and services.

Read More

Social Care Research Funding

The NIHR Research for Social Care (RfSC) call is a bi-annual competition specifically for social care proposals. The aim of this call is to fund topics and research methodologies that increase the effectiveness of social care services, provide value for money and benefit service users and carers.

Visit the National Institute for Health and Care research site

Fellowships and Internships

NIHR ARC Wessex Research Awards
Would you like to learn more about research? Would you like funding to pay for your time, training, mentorship and support to do a small project in your area of choice? The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) Wessex is pleased to offer a number of attractive research awards to help build the next generation of health and care researchers.

Career development support and training

There is a wide range of NIHR training and career development awards available at different levels and accessible by different professional backgrounds.

Visit the National Institute for Health and Care research site