social care evidence in practice: an english perspective

Developments in technology and research ensure there is more information available to us than ever before. Yet, many people working in social care report a difficulty in accessing, understanding and applying evidence to their practice. This presentation shares learning to date from a collaborative knowledge transfer project in England (SCEIP). It covers the following methods: conferences and workshops; peer mentoring; leader’s forum; graphic facilitation; video; embedding researchers; developing a joint knowledge transfer framework; social media platforms including twitter and blogs; and practitioner research projects. The Social Care Evidence in Practice (SCEIP) project is a partnership between the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the LSE and NIHR School for Social Care Research focused on bridging the gap between research and practice in social care. Collaborators include RAND Europe, research in practice for adults, and Social Services Research Group. Now half way through a two year project, this presentation shares my reflections on learning so far and plans for the future. The co-productive project focuses on overcoming the barriers and supporting enablers in transferring knowledge to practice, and vice versa, as identified in academic literature (Levin 2013, Nutley et al 2007 and 2009, Wilkinson et al 2012) and through practitioner knowledge. The presentation covers some future possibilities such as practice mentors for researchers; expert drop in sessions within local authorities; speed dating; production of a mobile application; development of animations and podcasts; putting research and practice on trial; and may possibly include a knowledge transfer ice cream van!!