Major boost for social care research

As part of the overall funding investment, the University’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work will receive funding over five years to support research studies and enable the training of researchers. The work will be coordinated by the NIHR’s School for Social Care Research (NIHR SSCR), of which the University of York is a member.

NIHR SSCR funds adult social care research and training for research staff and the University of York is one of only a handful of universities which have been involved with it since its formation nearly a decade ago. In that time the department has undertaken several influential studies which have delivered a positive impact across a wide range of social care issues, including help for older people seeking care and working people with disabilities.

Professor Yvonne Birks is Associate Director of the School and led the funding application. She said: “People using social care services, and those who care for them in formal and informal roles, deserve the same high quality research to underpin the services that people in healthcare receive; and those who work in social care need to know what works.

“This new investment brings money and opportunities to develop social care research careers and we are proud to have a part to play at York.”

Making the £20 million funding announcement, Minister of State for Care Caroline Dinenage said: “Thanks to advances in healthcare, people in England are living longer than ever before. That’s a testament to world-leading research and is clearly something to celebrate, but it’s important to think about how we can adapt our health and care system to meet the changing population’s needs.

“This £20 million boost to social care research is an investment in the future and will help us understand how best to provide care and support that keeps people living healthy, happy and independent lives for as long as possible.”

As well as the University of York, the NIHR SSCR partner institutions are the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), King’s College London, and the Universities of Bristol, Birmingham, Kent and Manchester.

The director of the NIHR SSCR, Professor Martin Knapp at the LSE, said: “The social care system relies on robust evidence to show what people need and want, what works and with what resource implications. I’m delighted that the School is receiving further investment from NIHR through DHSC to answer these questions. Our research will continue to involve people who use services, those who provide unpaid care and the care workforce to ensure that social care works for the people who need it.”