The ARC NWC received funding from the NIHR to develop a social care capacity building programme to support research into social care. The programme supports three workstreams:

1.) Research and implementation capacity building
2.) Education and training around research and evidence
3.) Research collaboration

The three workstreams include social care workforce research internships, a roundtable of stakeholders and a community of practice with organisations in the region.

Social care workforce research internships
Research interns from ARC NWC member organisations have been recruited and will soon commence their year-long research project. Research interns are supported to identify a research question and collect data to answer that question. The aim is to support improved service delivery and outcomes for service users. Research interns receive academic supervision in addition to research training and general support through the IMPlementation and Capacity building Team (IMPaCT).

Social care roundtable
The roundtable brings together stakeholders from social care services across the life-course. The first meeting was in January 2025, with the next in April 2025 with quarterly meetings henceforth. Membership includes representatives from local authorities, the Health Innovation Network (HIN), public advisors with lived experience, care homes, community health and home care providers as well as academics from universities across the region. The roundtable aims to support the workforce to develop research and implement evidence-based changes in practice.

Community of Practice
A developmental community of practice (CoP) will commence in April 2025, starting with the first of a series of online meetings. These will be focussed on important topics related to social care and social work, with presentations from professionals and academics in the area to prompt discussion between attendees. The aim of the CoP is to foster social care involvement in research to promote positive changes for social care staff and better outcomes for service users.
This programme is managed by Dr Danielle Christian (UCLan) and Dr James Coleman Watson (University of Liverpool) and will run until March 2026.