King's College London

Short title: Care Work

Introduction

The Adult Social Care Workforce Research Partnership, funded by the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) programme, aims to explore and address the critical challenges facing the adult social care workforce. This five-year initiative (2025-2030) brings together leading researchers, social care organisations, and local authorities to improve workforce sustainability and well-being.

This partnership is co-led by Professor Ann-Marie Towers, Deputy Director of the Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit (HSCWRU) at King’s College London, and Professor Karen Spilsbury from the University of Leeds.

Our Focus

This research partnership will drive meaningful change in the social care sector by focusing on four key areas:

1. Labour supply, demand and markets.
2. Wellbeing of social care staff.
3. Innovation in work conditions, roles and the way work is organised.
4. The use of data and technology to improve workforce practices.

Community involvement and engagement (CIE) is core to our partnership. This partnership was co-developed with input from sector partners, frontline staff, and people with lived experience of social care. Two national CIE advisory groups will guide our work, ensuring that lived experience shapes the research from design to delivery.

Methods

Our first phase (March 2025 - September 2026) focuses on three parallel activities:

• Co-designing research priorities with CIE groups, care sector partners, and national consultation groups.
• Reviewing existing evidence and research to identify gaps and create an accessible resource for the sector.
• Launching our first study, investigating how to attract and retain younger people in social care – a priority issue.

We will also establish a virtual community of practice where those working in and using social care services can share insights, learn from each other, and access the latest research findings.

Building on the first phase, we will co-design and launch four further research studies, each addressing a key workforce theme.

Project Team at King's

• Professor Ann-Marie Towers
• Dr Kritika Samsi
• Dr Wenjing Zhang

Care Work website

A dedicated website for the Care Work project is in development.