Asset-based innovations and whole system change in social care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Combining asset-based innovations to deliver whole system change within adult social care
IRAS ID
276017
Contact name
Jerry Tew
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
Prior to the Care Act 2014, most local authorities focused on assessing whether people were eligible to receive social care services, and on providing such services for those who were deemed to be eligible. This led to substantial funding being used to pay for services, such as residential care, that people did not necessarily need and which did not enable them to have the sorts of lives that they wanted.
There is now less funding for such services, and local authorities are required by the Care Act to focus instead on promoting people’s wellbeing and on preventing, reducing or delaying their need for social care services.In response to this, local authorities are bringing in new approaches to help vulnerable adults to have better lives, with closer relationships with friends and family, and better support from the communities in which they live. These are generally called asset or strength-based approaches. Some local authorities are beginning to find that one such approach on its own may not change things very much – so they are starting to try out combinations of new approaches so as to bring about a more fundamental change in the way that services operate.
The research will explore the process and impact of implementing such combinations of approaches, and whether they are successful in bringing about ‘whole-system’ change. We will undertake three case studies in contrasting local authorities, so as to allow analysis both within and across sites. We will interview managers, practitioners, people who need help and members of their families to explore their experience of how things are changing. We will look for evidence of changing practice, and assess whether or not there is an improvement in people’s wellbeing and/or a reduction in their need for social care and health services.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0016
Date of REC Opinion
2 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion