Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

This paper describes the development of an adult social care (ASC) research capacity-building partnership and the corresponding theory of change that underpins this work. In 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded six social care capacity building partnerships across...

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Main Authors: Nick Smith, Sarah Hotham, Alison Charles, Georgina Walton, Ferhana Hashem, Ann-Marie Towers, Jolie R Keemink, Rasa Mikelyte, Wenjing Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: F1000 Research Ltd 2025-07-01
Series:NIHR Open Research
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Online Access:https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-45/v2
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author Nick Smith
Sarah Hotham
Alison Charles
Georgina Walton
Ferhana Hashem
Ann-Marie Towers
Jolie R Keemink
Rasa Mikelyte
Wenjing Zhang
author_facet Nick Smith
Sarah Hotham
Alison Charles
Georgina Walton
Ferhana Hashem
Ann-Marie Towers
Jolie R Keemink
Rasa Mikelyte
Wenjing Zhang
author_sort Nick Smith
collection DOAJ
description This paper describes the development of an adult social care (ASC) research capacity-building partnership and the corresponding theory of change that underpins this work. In 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded six social care capacity building partnerships across England to improve the quality and quantity of social care research. These partnerships facilitate collaborative working between universities, local authorities, practitioners, providers, and people with lived experience. The Kent Research Partnership was established as one of the partnerships. Taking a co-produced approach, the Kent Research Partnership is a four-year partnership that aims to improve care quality by investing in and valuing the social care workforce and developing a culture of research and evidence-based practice and innovation. The Kent Research Partnership includes four interlinked streams of work- Communities of Practice, Researcher in Residence, Fellowships, and Access to Research. In addition, a fifth, cross-cutting workstream is dedicated to involving those with lived experience of ASC. To ensure robust programme planning and evaluation, we developed Theory of Change models for the overall partnership and each workstream. Within these models, we also how the Kent Research Partnership intends to change behaviour using the Behaviour Change Wheel as the underpinning model.
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language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
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spelling doaj-art-e8565045e669449790b5b56f93ebf93e2025-08-20T03:05:52ZengF1000 Research LtdNIHR Open Research2633-44022025-07-01510.3310/nihropenres.13890.215240Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Nick Smith0Sarah Hotham1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5525-3254Alison Charles2https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5454-7410Georgina Walton3Ferhana Hashem4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2544-1350Ann-Marie Towers5Jolie R Keemink6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4153-4530Rasa Mikelyte7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2772-8240Wenjing Zhang8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1810-791XUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKKent County Council, Maidstone, UKUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKHealth and Social Care Workforce Research Unit, The Policy Institute, King’s College, London, UKUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKUniversity of Kent Centre for Health Services Studies, Canterbury, England, UKHealth and Social Care Workforce Research Unit, The Policy Institute, King’s College, London, UKThis paper describes the development of an adult social care (ASC) research capacity-building partnership and the corresponding theory of change that underpins this work. In 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded six social care capacity building partnerships across England to improve the quality and quantity of social care research. These partnerships facilitate collaborative working between universities, local authorities, practitioners, providers, and people with lived experience. The Kent Research Partnership was established as one of the partnerships. Taking a co-produced approach, the Kent Research Partnership is a four-year partnership that aims to improve care quality by investing in and valuing the social care workforce and developing a culture of research and evidence-based practice and innovation. The Kent Research Partnership includes four interlinked streams of work- Communities of Practice, Researcher in Residence, Fellowships, and Access to Research. In addition, a fifth, cross-cutting workstream is dedicated to involving those with lived experience of ASC. To ensure robust programme planning and evaluation, we developed Theory of Change models for the overall partnership and each workstream. Within these models, we also how the Kent Research Partnership intends to change behaviour using the Behaviour Change Wheel as the underpinning model.https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-45/v2Social care research capacity Theory of Change Behaviour Change eng
spellingShingle Nick Smith
Sarah Hotham
Alison Charles
Georgina Walton
Ferhana Hashem
Ann-Marie Towers
Jolie R Keemink
Rasa Mikelyte
Wenjing Zhang
Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
NIHR Open Research
Social care
research capacity
Theory of Change
Behaviour Change
eng
title Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
title_full Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
title_fullStr Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
title_full_unstemmed Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
title_short Increasing research capacity in adult social care: a research capacity-building partnership in Kent and its theory of change. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
title_sort increasing research capacity in adult social care a research capacity building partnership in kent and its theory of change version 2 peer review 2 approved
topic Social care
research capacity
Theory of Change
Behaviour Change
eng
url https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-45/v2
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