We have now completed a multi stakeholder impact and evaluation assessment of the recently delivered NHS R&D North West pilot social care internship programme, undertaken by professionally registered health and social care professionals working in local authority settings in the northwest of England. A detailed description of the programme, its aims, objectives and content are available here.

In brief, the Social Care Practitioner Researcher Development Pilot Programme provided a sustained opportunity for registered health and social care professionals in the northwest of England to begin to explore the opportunities that are available to help them to become actively engaged in practice-based research. The impact and evaluation study has shown that participants developed not simply their research skills and knowledge of practice-based research during the internship but have taken their learning back to their employing organisations and in a range of ways, have already begun to ‘make a difference’.

Please read the report here. You’ll see that its findings and recommendations are enlightening and in many ways,  provide us with a very useful signpost as to how together, we can build this much needed community of practice-based researchers working in local authorities and beyond.  We’d be delighted to discuss with you any aspect of the report or social care practitioner research more generally. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.