Title: ConnectED: Connecting Evidence with Decision Making
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: ConnectED: Connecting Evidence with Decision Making_x000D_ _x000D_ WHAT IS ConnectED?_x000D_ _x000D_ Connected is a project that aims to help decision-makers in Adult Social Care make better decisions by growing their ability to use research._x000D_ _x000D_ Until now, there has been only relatively little funding for research in Adult Social Care and little investment in developing the capacity of organisations to produce and use research. Too often researchers are only involved with Adult Social Care organisations when they want to conduct research they think is important. The ConnectED Partnership is going to change this situation._x000D_ _x000D_ The ConnectED project will bring together the worlds of research and practice, by:_x000D_ - helping social care managers and practitioners use research to make the best decisions they can_x000D_ - building research capacity within Adult Social Care_x000D_ - ensuring that researchers address the things that matter to service users and carers and practitioners._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ WHO IS INVOLVED?_x000D_ _x000D_ We are a Partnership of local authority Adult Social Care departments, service providers, universities and service users and carers._x000D_ - Bristol City Council_x000D_ - North Somerset_x000D_ - South Gloucestershire_x000D_ - Sirona Health and Care_x000D_ - Dhek Bhal_x000D_ - Bristol University and the University of the West of England_x000D_ - ConnectED Service Users and Carers Advisory Group_x000D_ _x000D_ In addition, we have the support of a number of other organisations, including the local Clinical Commissioning Group, the local NIHR Research Design Service (who help design research) and the local Clinical Research Network (who help deliver research), and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)._x000D_ _x000D_ WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?_x000D_ _x000D_ We are going to create new roles and new ways of working. We are going to:_x000D_ _x000D_ i) Place a researcher in each local authority, in Sirona Health and Care, and in Dhek Bhal. These ‘Researchers in Residence’ will spend between 2 and 3 days a week in each agency, working with practitioners to help them access research that is relevant to their work and to the service users and carers with whom they work._x000D_ _x000D_ ii) Identify someone to act as an Evidence Champion in each agency. They will have protected time to work closely with their Researcher in Residence. Together they will help to develop a better understanding of research and how to use it in social care._x000D_ _x000D_ iii) Identify ConnectED Service User and Carer Advisors to work alongside the Researchers in Residence and Evidence Champions in particular areas of practice._x000D_ _x000D_ By working closely together on issues that matter, these ‘Research Practice Partnerships' will help to bridge the gap between the worlds of research, practice and lived experience._x000D_ _x000D_ LEARNING BY DOING_x000D_ At the heart of the project is ‘learning by doing’. The Research Practice Partnerships will:_x000D_ _x000D_ - prioritise issues that are important to all agency decision-makers_x000D_ _x000D_ - find relevant research that will help professionals to make better decisions_x000D_ _x000D_ - explain research in ways that make sense to decision-makers, from service users and carers to senior managers, and including commissioners and relevant Cabinet members_x000D_ _x000D_ - receive training in research and help train others_x000D_ _x000D_ - identify gaps in research_x000D_ _x000D_ - collaborate on research projects that are important to service users and to their agencies_x000D_ _x000D_ - work collaboratively to assess the impact of the project over its lifetime and identify ‘lessons learned’._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ SHARING LESSONS LEARNED_x000D_ _x000D_ Within participating organisations we will take advantage of regular meetings to share what we learn e.g. group supervision of senior practitioners, ‘lunch and learn’ meetings, or ‘team huddles'._x000D_ We will share learning across participating organisations at larger workshops that will bring together researchers, social care practitioners, commissioners, managers, and service users and carers._x000D_ _x000D_ GOVERNANCE_x000D_ _x000D_ The project will be overseen by a Programme Board. This will be jointly chaired by a Director of Adult Social Care and the Chairperson of the ConnectED Service User and Carer Panel.

Lay abstract: ConnectED: Connecting Evidence with Decision Making_x000D_ _x000D_ RESEARCH QUESTION_x000D_ Can we improve research use in Adult Social Care by bringing together the worlds of research and practice, informed by the lived experience of service users and carers?_x000D_ _x000D_ BACKGROUND_x000D_ Research active practitioners are rare within Adult Social Care, and the use of research to inform decision-making is not routine. The worlds of practice and research are often quite separate, and there is often a mismatch between the research produced by universities and other organisations, the needs of those working in Adult Social Care and those in receipt of their services. Evidence from the transformation of healthcare and healthcare research points to the importance of bringing the worlds of research and practice closer together, involving service users and carers, and investing in capacity building in social care staff. This is what we are seeking to do in this project_x000D_ _x000D_ AIMS AND OBJECTIVES _x000D_ The overarching aim of this project is to facilitate evidence-based decision-making in a range of Adult Social Care contexts, thereby improving outcomes for service users and carers and identifying successful strategies for developing evidence-based practice in Adult Social Care nationally._x000D_ _x000D_ In order to meet this aim, the project has the following key objectives:_x000D_ _x000D_ 1.To build the capacity of social care workers (including senior practitioners and frontline workers, managers, commissioners and analysts) to identify, access and use research to improve decision-making._x000D_ _x000D_ 2.Using co-production methods, to develop the ability of practitioners within Adult Social Care to undertake service evaluations, and to develop early-stage studies that can form the basis for future research proposals in priority areas._x000D_ _x000D_ 3.To evaluate the impact of the project’s capacity-building activities on effective decision-making, and the use of evidence to inform policy and practice in Adult Social Care._x000D_ _x000D_ 4.To identify factors that facilitate or impede capacity-building in evidence-based decision-making amongst those working in a complex social and organisational context, and successful implementation strategies that support better decision-making._x000D_ _x000D_ METHODS_x000D_ In each of our five partner agencies we will establish a three-person Research Practice Partnership comprising:_x000D_ • A Researcher in Residence: we will locate a social care researcher in each agency, using a ‘researcher-in-residence’ model. _x000D_ • An Evidence Champion: each agency will nominate members of staff to work with the researcher in residence to promote and embed the use of research in decision making. They will be known as evidence champions._x000D_ • User and Carer Advisors: each partnership will work closely with designated service users or carers who bring relevant expertise by experience._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ PROGRAMME THEORY_x000D_ _x000D_ In line with good practice, we have formed some hypotheses regarding what mechanisms are likely to operate, the contexts in which they might operate, and what one would find if they operated as expected (outcomes). These will be refined in discussion with participating agencies at the outset of the project and will help to direct the investigation and analyses. They will be revisited in light of the findings. _x000D_ _x000D_ Our programme theory posits that i) building capacity to use and produce research evidence at an individual, interpersonal and organisational level and ii) strengthening the relationship between practitioners, researchers and service users and carers, will result in improved evidence-based decision making and practice. _x000D_ _x000D_ The key mechanisms thought to achieve this are that: the Research Practice Partnerships will not only increase belief in the relevance and value of research but also increase self-efficacy and ability to use and produce research, by involving practitioners, service users and carers in the identification of research priorities and co-production of research activities (syntheses, evaluations) and learning activities (evidence master-classes, problem-based learning), supported by key skills training._x000D_ _x000D_ The project consists of three, inter-connected workstreams._x000D_ _x000D_ WORKSTREAM 1 – Connecting research evidence with key decision-makers_x000D_ _x000D_ The overall aim of this workstream is to facilitate the integration of research and practice at multiple levels within Adult Social Care, from those in leadership roles to the frontline workers. _x000D_ Working with their Researcher in Residence and Service User and Carer Advisor, Evidence Champions will identify those issues and decisions where research might be useful. The Researcher in Residence will then identify and critically appraise the evidence, and the Partnership will together consider its relevance and implications._x000D_ The Research Practice Partnerships will then work with wider groups of staff to consider how best to embed its use in practice. Over the course of the project, the Evidence Champions will develop the skills required to source and appraise research. This will come from working closely with the Researchers in Residence, from participation in learning sets, access to training courses and master classes organised by the research team._x000D_ Each Researcher in Residence will also take a lead role in working with particular groups of more senior staff, or staff not working on the front line, for example, elected members of councils, commissioners of services, senior managers, data analysts._x000D_ _x000D_ WORKSTREAM 2 – Fostering research-practitioners and growing an evidence-based culture._x000D_ _x000D_ ‘Learning by doing’ is the key principle in workstream 2, which is designed to develop a cadre of research-active practitioners, able to undertake applied research that can provide useful information for performance monitoring within their agencies and provide the basis for the development of a pipeline of research. _x000D_ Activities will involve social care professionals at all levels of the organisations, including social workers, occupational therapists, reablement workers and analysts._x000D_ Each Research Practice Partnership will identify an area of practice that would benefit from a comprehensive synthesis of the available evidence, or a service innovation or current policy or practice for which no relevant or sound evidence-base currently exists. _x000D_ _x000D_ For services where no adequate evidence is currently available, the Partnership may decide to conduct exploratory research which could establish the need for careful evaluation, thereby potentially forming the basis of an application for externally funded research e.g. a feasibility study of an innovative idea, or a pilot study of a service for which little or no evidence is available._x000D_ _x000D_ WORKSTREAM 3 - Assessing impact and identifying lessons learned_x000D_ _x000D_ Using a realist approach, this workstream is designed to assess the impact of the project and identify ‘lessons learned’ about what works, for whom, and in what circumstances in pursuit of sustainable improvements in research use in Adult Social Care. It will explore issues of implementation and acceptability, as well as the impact of workstreams 1 and 2. The findings will help the Partnership to sustain improvements in the use of research in decision-making, to lay the foundations for further developments and to provide a reference point for new partnerships seeking to embed research use in their work. _x000D_ Before the Research-Practice Partnerships begin operating, we will collect a range of baseline data regarding the nature and extent of research use within each participating agency. We will also work with each agency to identify the specific aims and objectives that each wants to achieve in relation to research use by the end of the project. Towards the end of the project, we will repeat the data collections and assess the extent to which each agency has improved in respect of research use in general, and in relation to their specific aspirations. _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ TIMELINE FOR DELIVERY_x000D_ The project will run for 42 months. We anticipate that the Research Practice Partnerships will begin work on Work Package 1 in Month 4, and work on Work Package 2 is expected to begin in Month 13. Work Package 3 runs throughout the project._x000D_ _x000D_ ANTICIPATED IMPACT_x000D_ The ultimate beneficiaries of this project will be service users and carers in the agencies involved and, longer term, in other Adult Social Care services. Shorter term, the impacts we hope to achieve include:_x000D_ 1. Sustainable changes of organisational culture _x000D_ 2. The routine use of research in decision-making at all levels_x000D_ 3. A growth in within-agency service evaluation and exploratory research_x000D_ 4. Transferable knowledge about ‘what works’ in bringing about sustainable improvements in the use of research in Adult Social Care_x000D_ 5. The identification of relevant research questions, and _x000D_ 6. The emergence of a pipeline of research practitioners._x000D_ _x000D_ DISSEMINATION_x000D_ _x000D_ As well as having in place mechanisms for sharing information across the Partnership as a whole, we are collaborating with the Social Care Institute for Excellence to ensure wide dissemination of our findings, in a range of media that will ensure accessibility to all key stakeholders, including practitioners and experts by experience.

Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE