Title: IMPACT: Improving Adult Care Together
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: The overall aim of IMPACT, the proposed UK Centre for Evidence Implementation in Adult Social Care (ASC), is to contribute to a situation in which people with care and support needs can live an ordinary life of their choosing. IMPACT will contribute to this vision by supporting practical improvements on the ground and longer-term cultural change, pursuing the following specific objectives: 1. To support more widespread use of evidence in ASC We will achieve this objective by identifying existing evidence of three main types (published research findings of different kinds; information/accounts based on 'lived experience' (people who use services/have care and support needs); and the 'practice wisdom' of practitioners/professionals based on reflection. Using an appropriate delivery model, we will: share/discuss this evidence; and support others to apply it in practice; reflect upon its impact and outcomes; and (as appropriate) scale it 'up and out', resulting in better care practices, systems and outcomes for people who use services, their families and communities. 2. To build capacity and skills in the ASC workforce We will do this by engaging directly with people working in ASC (at all levels and across the diversity of the sector). IMPACT staff/specialists will work with them to support reflection on practices/ behaviours. We will encourage open-minded approaches to the evidence we share, and a focus on what can be changed/improved by applying this knowledge. We will support those we work with to assess evidence, identify opportunities to innovate/change practices and apply knowledge in ways that improve care and deliver better outcomes. 3. To facilitate sustainable and productive relationships between all stakeholders in ASC To do this we will focus on co-operation, respectful dialogue, and listening/learning from all parties involved in/affected by arrangements in ASC. We will collaborate to co-create positive change and innovations, taking advice from participants in our IMPACT Assemblies and welcoming all voices as we develop our digital and online support/resources and engage with partners through the demonstrators, services, networks and platforms IMPACT creates (the delivery models described in our Case for Support). 4. To improve understanding of what helps/hinders the implementation of evidence in practice We will achieve this objective by supporting local evaluations of changes made, and comparing and learning from these, as well as carefully analysing all feedback and reports of IMPACT activities. We will also invite respondents to our stakeholder survey to share their perspectives on this challenge and ensure responses are used to refine future delivery models and overcome longstanding barriers to positive change. We are committed to ensuring IMPACT is a genuine 'implementation centre' and a learning organisation, and will ensure all three types of evidence (research, lived experience and practice wisdom) guide the centre's approach and practice. We believe the co-design principles underlying our approach, and the new delivery models we propose, will ensure IMPACT fills a crucial gap in existing ASC infrastructure (whilst also respecting, working with and building on existing initiatives, organisations and networks).

Lay abstract: IMPACT stands for 'Improving Adult Care Together'. It is a new £15 million UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, co-funded by the ESRC and the Health Foundation. It is led by Professor Jon Glasby at the University of Birmingham, with a Leadership Team of 12 other academics, people drawing on care and support, and policy and practice partners - along with a broader consortium of key stakeholders from across the sector and across the four nations of the UK. IMPACT is an 'implementation centre' not a research centre, drawing on evidence gained from different types of research, the lived experience of people drawing on care and support and their carers, and the practice knowledge of social care staff. It will work across the UK to make sure that it is embedded in, and sensitive to, the very different policy contexts in each of the four nations, as well as being able to share learning across the UK as a whole. As it gets up and running, IMPACT will seek to: Provide practical support to implement evidence in the realities of everyday life and front-line services Overcome the practical and cultural barriers to using evidence in such a pressured, diverse and fragmented sector Bring key stakeholders together to share learning and co-design our work in inclusive and diverse 'IMPACT Assemblies' (based in all four nations of the UK to reflect different policy and practice contexts) Work over three phases of development ('co-design', 'establishment' and 'delivery') to build a centre that creates sustainable change and becomes a more permanent feature of adult social care landscape

Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES;8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE