On 2 October, 2024, the Supporting Adult Social Care Innovation (SASCI) project, led by Dr Juliette Malley of the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), co-hosted an event with Research in Practice and Social Finance, bringing together social care innovators, policymakers, researchers, and people with lived experience to reflect on five years of research into social care innovations, and to chart the future for innovation in the sector.
Over the past five years, SASCI, a partnership between CPEC at LSE, King’s College London, and the University of York and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), has focused on why innovations in adult social care often struggle to sustain, scale, and spread. The project aimed to foster sustainable innovation that can improve the lives of those who need it most. This event was an opportunity to celebrate SASCI’s achievements, and discuss how best to carry lessons learnt forward.
Innovation as a River: Navigating challenges and embracing change
As Dr Juliette Malley presented during a plenary session, findings from the SASCI research pointed to three main types of innovation journeys; those for systems, social innovations, and business models. All are slightly different forms of river to navigate, filled with rocks (barriers), headwinds (which make it more difficult to navigate rocks), and thunderstorms (rare occurrences that can reset the course of innovation). Organisations need slightly different strategies to manoeuvre the three forms of river. This metaphor captures the essence of social care innovation: the journey is rarely straightforward. There are inevitable obstacles – limited funding, regulatory barriers, and entrenched practices – but embracing uncertainty and learning from setbacks is what drives progress. Throughout the event, speakers emphasised that to foster meaningful innovation, the sector must be prepared to take risks and navigate challenges together, even when the current seems strong. Whether it’s through co-production, collaboration, or new financial models, the key is to keep moving, adapting to the river’s flow, and learning from every unexpected turn.
An example of an innovation journey: Systems innovations
Innovation in Social Care: A collaborative and human-centred journey
One of the central themes of the event was the need for collaboration and co-production in social care innovation. This idea was explored in the opening panel, "Perspectives on Innovation in Adult Social Care," which featured insights from Dr Malte Gerhold (Health Foundation), Adam Lent (King’s Fund), and Jennifer Pearl (Think Local Act Personal), and was chaired by Lisa Smith (Research in Practice). The panellists emphasised that innovation in adult social care, and the related policy supporting it, must be more than just technological or managerial improvements – it must also be driven by the lived experiences of those receiving care. Adam Lent captured this sentiment:
“The only way we are going to get the change we’re talking about is through a collaborative approach, forcing change from below.”
In line with this vision, the breakout session "Shape or Be Shaped" highlighted innovations that challenge the foundational structures of the adult social care system. Emma Back (Equal Care Co-op), along with Les Billingham, Ceri Armstrong and Ian Wake from Thurrock Council shared their values-driven approaches, emphasising the role of leadership, redistributing power, and empowering people drawing on care. The opening panellists also agreed that innovation must centre human needs and empower those who draw on care to set their own agendas. This resonates with the trend toward greater co-production, where people who draw on care are actively involved in shaping it.
The Financial Challenge: Innovation and sustainability
While innovation promises improvements, financial pressures on adult social care were acknowledged throughout the event. During her plenary, Dr Juliette Malley shared insights from SASCI research, emphasising the need to address the economic constraints that often hinder innovation. She noted, “Being led by delivering savings can be self-defeating”: focusing too much on short-term savings can undermine long-term progress.
Participants in the breakout session on sustaining innovation, chaired by Professor Ewan Ferlie (King’s College London), reflected on the difficulty of maintaining a focus on innovation when organisations face strict financial constraints. Jo Cheshire (WCS Care) and Sarah Paskett (Springfield Healthcare) shared their experiences of how innovation, even in resource-limited settings, can be driven by building strong values-based organisational cultures that prioritise continuous improvement.
However, the "elephant in the room" remained: money. Innovation, particularly in a sector as resource constrained as adult social care, requires more than goodwill; it requires investment, strategic planning, and the willingness to explore different ways of working. The SASCI project highlighted the need for institutional experimentation and knowledge exchange to foster long-term, sustainable, and transformational innovation. The project also questioned whether organisations need to attempt “frugal innovation”, turning the lack of resources into an advantage to develop affordable innovations, rather than seeing it as a reason not to jump in.
The Role of Research: Balancing evidence with action
Another recurrent theme was the role of research in supporting social care innovation. A core aim of SASCI has been to develop evidence that supports the expansion of affordable and effective innovations - raising the question of how to ensure innovation is evidence-informed. In the breakout session led by Professor Ann-Marie Towers, Ewan King and Victoria Odude from Shared Lives Plus explained how they conduct knowledge exchange activities. Karen Spilsbury (University of Leeds) also reminded participants that action sometimes needs to take precedence over further study:
“Not everything needs research – sometimes we know the right answers and we need to take action.”
This tension between the need for evidence and the urgency for change was a key insight from the event. While research is essential for understanding what works, the slow pace of evidence generation can sometimes impede necessary action. The challenge moving forward will be to strike the balance between research and implementation; working out what evidence is needed at which stage.
Building an Innovation Community: Connecting people and ideas
An exciting outcome of the SASCI project is the creation of an innovation and improvement community in adult social care. The event’s breakout session on developing this community, organised by Dr. Juliette Malley and Social Finance, explored how to connect people, ideas, and resources to sustain innovation beyond the SASCI project’s lifespan.
Participants agreed that collaboration to share knowledge, ideas and inspire action is key. As Jenny Pitts (National Development Team for Inclusion) noted during the second panel, “Just be prepared to jump in the river. The best learning comes from the things that don’t go according to plan.” This panel focused on what’s needed to sustain a future of innovation, and featured Alfonso Lara-Montero (European Social Network), Jenny Pitts, and Dr Anna Severwright OBE (Social Care Future). By embracing the unexpected and learning from failure, social care innovators can build a resilient, adaptive community. The SASCI project has laid the groundwork for this kind of collaborative network. Moving forward, stakeholders across the sector will need to continue working together to pool knowledge, share resources, and develop shared standards for innovation.
Reflections and the Road Ahead
As the event came to a close, Sir David Behan CBE reflected on the legacy of SASCI, emphasising that while technology can aid innovation, it is human behaviour and personalisation that will ultimately drive meaningful change in adult social care. He remarked that the lessons learned from SASCI will continue to shape the sector, providing insights for policymakers, practitioners, and innovators alike. As the SASCI project reaches its conclusion, it leaves behind a wealth of knowledge, a strong network of collaborators, and a renewed sense of purpose for the future of adult social care. The event was a celebration of five years of research, but more importantly, it was a call to action for continued collaboration and investment in innovation.
To stay updated on SASCI’s outputs and how its findings will influence the future of social care, visit the website and follow the project’s ongoing impact.