1. Changing Lives and the Research & Development Strategy
Kate Skinner
Institute Lead, Research Development and Application
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

2. Imperatives for the R&D Strategy:
From Changing Lives we need to :
Use info gathered
Learn from mistakes
Base decisions on evidence
Support innovation
Use technology
Learn from good practice
`Scottish Executive, (2006) Changing Lives
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

3. R&D Strategy: Sits under Practice Governance BUT is a cross-cutting issue:
Practice Improvement: Need to research and evaluate in order to know what works
Service Development: Standards need to be based on effective practice and accumulated practice wisdom
Workforce Development: To be competent, confident and valued staff need to be able to link their practice to theory/research, strategies to develop the workforce need to be based on best practice
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

4. Practice Governance: Safe and effective practice need to be based on evidence derived from research and knowledge creation
Leadership and Management: Managers need to be well-informed, research-aware, research-literate and able to instill intellectual curiosity in staff
Scottish Executive (2006) Changing Lives Implementation Plan
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

5. In essence, Evidence-based Practice is:
Formulating questions based on service users’ needs
Searching for relevant literature
Critically appraising the literature
Taking relevant evidence and adding it to practice wisdom
Applying it
Evaluating practice
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

6. R&D Strategy is about increasing research:
Literacy
Capacity/Capability Basis for Decisions
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

7. Some excellent examples of good practice, but we need to:
Broaden/deepen interest in knowledge as a basis for services
Demystify research in order to be more inclusive
Get ‘buy-in’ at all organisational levels
Increase overall investment
Improve research skill levels
Build effective infra-structure
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

8. Major issue:
Spending on research in social services is at best one eighth of that spent in health
Desperate need to increase investment in social services
Very little money spent by LAs on research
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

9. Aim for the R&D Strategy is:
To increase the quantity and quality of research activity, and its dissemination and integration into practice, in order to improve and develop social services
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

10. So we have:
A National Steering Group: Chaired by Bryan Williams with reps (c20) from ADSW, BASW, SSRG, Universities Scotland, SWIA, FE Colleges etc
3 Working Groups:
Embedding Research into Social Services
Improving the Research Infrastructure
Increasing Research Capacity and Capability
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

11. Members of the Working Groups
Service users, carers, practitioners, managers, planners, academics, researchers (health, education and social services), vol. orgs, centres of excellence, further education colleges etc – about 50 in all
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

12. Timetable: Papers produced by Working Groups (WG) September
First draft written October
Out to WG for feedback November
Out nationally for consultation Dec/Jan/Feb
Re-write March 08
Published April 08
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

13. Developing demonstration projects e.g.:
Working with LAs on:
- 2 service developments taking a community of practice approach;
- a group of practitioners undertaking modest research projects
- setting up a journal club, writing for publication
- a seminar on services for older people calling on research
- evaluating a performance improvement project
- developing a research ethics and governance framework
Set up an information for practice special interest group
Conducted surveys on research in agencies, further education colleges
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

14. Developing the evaluation of the new SW degree
Conducted a survey/held consultation event of knowledge used in practice
Carrying out a feasibility study on the future design of information systems for social services
Evaluating a practitioner research programme in a voluntary organisation supported by the Glasgow School of Social Work
Developing the evaluation of the new SW degree
Contributing to the evaluation of Leading to Deliver
Developing pilot project of practitioner research posts
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

15. Working with the ESRC and SFC on funding issues
Commissioning a study of research capacity in Scotland
Working with academics on their contribution to leadership in the sector
Examining the feasibility of setting up an on-line journal for the sector
Making full-text journals available to all registered social services employees via the Learning Exchange
Kate Skinner, SIESWE

16. All these: Will be building receptivity for the Strategy
Contributing to the evidence base for social services
Developing models for the future
Sowing the seeds for future developments
Kate Skinner, SIESWE