NIHR Health & Social Care Workforce Research Unit

Making Research Count: what we do

Responding to the COVID-19 crisis: Adaptation and innovation in adult social care

We continue to deliver a programme of Continuing Professional Development for experienced social workers, managers and commissioners across the region. During the pandemic we have used emerging policy and research publications to explore how the sector was responding to COVID-19. The programme has been extremely successful, providing a valuable opportunity for practitioners and managers to reflect upon the changing professional context.

Go to the Making Research Count events schedule

Booth map of London with overlay of quotes

West London Social Work Teaching Partnership

Teaching Partnerships are a government initiative to strengthen relationships between universities and local authorities around training and developing social workers.

Making Research Count has worked with Royal Holloway, University of London and eight local authorities to develop the West London Teaching Partnership, for which we deliver a bespoke webinar series.

Go to the West London Social Work Teaching Partnership

London Book Club

2021 was the 17th anniversary of the 'London Book Club', our reflective practice forum for experienced practitioners and managers in children's services. With a circulation list of over 170 colleagues across London, this group meets monthly to discuss and debate research-based articles and their implications for practice.

Moving online during the pandemic, topics have ranged widely: from emerging research on the impact of COVID-19 on social work practice to working with perpetrators of domestic abuse; from adoption to managing social media; from contextual safeguarding to decision-making in social work.

A book stall under Waterloo Bridge in London

Making Research Count supporting those returning to social work

During the pandemic, we took part in two government-sponsored initiatives to encourage those who had left the profession to return.

The first was a fast-track programme called Social Work Together (800 registered participants). Working with Chinara Enterprises and others, James Blewett and Jill Manthorpe provided those who had left social work roles relatively recently 'bite-sized' modules that enabled them to re-orientate to the current context of social work.

The second initiative, the Return to Social Work Programme (200 registered) was for those who had left the profession longer ago.

Cartoon of people engaging in various activities

Making Research Count working together with the Policy Research Unit

In addition to its schedule of dedicated Continuing Professional Development sessions (in which Policy Research Unit staff are often involved, discussing their research findings), a number of events are joint badged with the Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce. These include the Unit's Older People's annual conference (pictured) as well as the Mental Health & Social Care annual conference and the Learning Disability Services Series.