QUARTERLY BRIEFING issue 12 september 2002

This briefing provides an update on developments in the research in practicenetwork, a creative partnership between the Association of Directors of Social

distinctive elements of our work

research in practiceis the largest childcare research implementation network in the UK. Our Partners and Members are committed to bringing the worlds of practice and research closer together to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and their families.

We act as a catalyst in the field of social care by supporting a close network of over 65 statutory and voluntary agencies. We work in collaboration with our Partners and Members to promote evidencebased practice with children and families, supporting the implementation and the adoption of research. We operate confidently at every level in Partner and Member organisations - with management as well as withfrontline staff. We make it possible for professionals, elected members and service users to learn from one another's experience. We focus all our resources on our network's efforts to put evidence based services at the heart of the key structures of their agencies and to make a measurable improvement to the lives of the children and families who rely on them for support.

• research in practice is a network of agencies committed to learning together and to offering the results of our work to the wider social care world
  
• we concentrate on developing evidence based practice in services for vulnerable children and families - focusing on, but not being limited to, statutory and large voluntary child care agencies
  
• we use an increasingly wide range of methods to bring the best of what research has to offer to the widest selection of those involved in planning and delivering services
  
• we are committed to constant improvement through internal evaluation, external scrutiny and transparency in our plans, methods and outcomes.
  

the research in practicenetwork

This is our second full year of the network being made up of Partners and Members . Partners work intensively with the research in practice staff to identify, test and refine a range of materials and methods designed to assist social care workers become more confident in and capable of accessing and using research. Members receive the same products in bulk as do Partners and benefit from first access to finalised materials tested by Partner agencies.

Partnership -

Membership -

21 agencies (see below - in italic ) are Members; more are welcome. Membership is open to all local authorities, voluntary child care organisations, health trusts and authorities and strategic health authorities, local education authorities, social care training organisations (including university courses), professional bodies and a limited number of children and family service user groups (who are offered Membership at the reduced annual fee of £100). The full year fee is currently £3,000 and will be reviewed in 2003.

Associates -

All ADSS members who are not Members or Partners of research in practice automatically become Associate Members and receive these Quarterly Briefings and single copies of all our products at the time of publication.

Partners pay an annual fee of £9K for full participation in the research in practice network. Members pay £3K annually for bulk delivery of all our products, access to most of our website, and an invitation to key seminars. The ADSS contribution is tangible acknowledgement of their engagement and supports the specific services provided to their own wider membership. The Nuffield Foundation grant has financed the piloting of the REAL Evidence Based Practice in Teams Action Pack , the Gatsby Charitable Foundation grant has supported the continuing website development. A collaboration with the Department of Health supports the Quality Protects Research Briefings series.

what Partners and Members say:

'So much is happening locally and nationally - research in practicehelps us to keep the bigger picture in mind and link learning with doing' - Support Officer

'Being part of a committed focused network means that I can quickly get to know what's happening elsewhere and how we can develop.'

'We have moved forward from participation in the research in practice learning events programme towards more local work at team and organisational levels using research in practice resources and support to help our progress.'

'Our partnership with research in practice has greatly assisted in the formulation of care plans and in strategic/service planning.'

'Partnership has provided a focal point for discussion and an imperative to prioritise evidence-based practice.'

'Participation in the learning events, the website and other research in practice materials have helped keep evidence based practice on the agenda.'

achievements in the past year

• In response to practitioner request, we have published two peer-reviewed research reviews: Parental Problem Drinking and its Impact on Children, and Parental Drug Misuse: a review of impact and intervention studies.
  
• The website has been rebuilt with substantial new content. It is faster, with a full-site search facility and easy 'cut-andpaste' format; features include monthly Research and Policy Updates , text versions of all publications, Evidence bank summaries of research reviews and overviews, and comprehensive links to a wealth of research-related materials.
  
• Our network of over 65 agencies continues to develop a mutual support strategy through an email network dedicated to exchanging knowledge and advice about service planning, delivery and evaluation. Journal clubs enable staff to discuss new research findings. A range of senior practitioner posts has been established, typically mixing casework responsibilities with a wider remit to promote the use of evidence within their locality.
  
• Workshops are offered at national events to showcase evaluated service developments.
  
• Link Officers have an increasingly important role - organising workshops, writing conference reports and leading modules.
  
• Various strands of work with the Social Care Institute for Excellence are in place. Links have been built with the King's Fund to run joint conferences, and with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to devise and test more effective means of disseminating contextual research information. Strong links continue with the Nuffield Foundation , the ADSS planning and policy mechanisms, and with academics throughout the UK.
  
• Our learning programme continues to be carefully evaluated.
  
• The annual All Agency Audit provides invaluable information to individual agencies and to the network as a whole about progress in supporting evidence based practice.
  
• Evaluation of the REAL Evidence Based Practice in Teams Action Pack will enable us to track and support its use prior to it being revised and republished next year.
  
• Website use is being monitored to enable agencies to support improved use of the site.
  
• The NIFTY development project was launched; seven agencies receive hands-on support for non-researchers to evaluate a service in their area.
  
• A project group has developed the REAL Organisational Support for Evidence Based Practice Action Pack , containing audit and planning tools to assist senior managers plan and support better use of evidence.
  
• Services were extended to a wider grouping of service agencies by providing slightly different services to Partners and Members. Membership is a new service this year.

plans for the year to 31 August 2003

• The REAL Organisational Support for Evidence Based Practice Action Pack will be piloted. It is designed to support
  the auditing of 'fi tness' for evidence based practice and the planning for an evaluation of improvements. Three regional launch meetings are planned for December.

• The NIFTY evaluation project will be completed with the publication of a guide to in-house single service evaluation. A new project group will start next autumn.

• A research review on disabled parenting by Richard Olsen and Michele Wates will be published at the end of the year.

• Support to service users will be increased: a children and families' guide to research and to promising practice approaches to improving the educational achievement of children in need will be published in the summer.

• A research based bi-annual newsletter for councillors and trustees will be launched.

• Further website improvements are in train to consolidate its role as a key portal to useful social care knowledge.

• Practical ways to satisfy requests for more regional contacts for Link Officers are being developed.

• A joint project with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on tailoring research reports for practice relevance is to be developed. The Really Useful Research Network will explore new ways to engage practitioners in evidence based change.

• Joint events are being run with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) concerning disabled parenting and parents who misuse alcohol or drugs or have mental health problems.

• Spare time is Good Time, a presentation about improving the life chances of vulnerable children through spare time and leisure activities, is being presented at the 2002 Social Services Conference in Cardiff.

• A collaboration with Link and Support Officers aims to produce a briefing pack to help them fulfil their role as the vital bridge between research in practice and their organisations.

• Our new Learning Events Programme combines research support and research messages workshops, modules linked to development projects, and two symposia.

• Quality Protect Research Briefings on leaving care, youth offending, race and ethnicity, physical health and mental health will be published.

associates

Mo Barratt Research Fellow -action packs and modules
Julie Depledge - Information designer website and publications design
Nick Gornall - IT Manager/Developer computer systems, website programming
Kevin Mount - Information designer website and publications design
John Randall - Research Reviewer Research Policy Updates
Mary Williamson - Project leader audiotapes

management board

Celia Atherton, Director, research in practice; Ann Hagell, co-director, Policy Research Bureau (professional
advisor); Rob Hutchinson (chair), Director, Portsmouth Social Services; Julie Jones, Director, Westminster
Social and Community Services; Ray Jones, Director, Wiltshire Adult and Community Services (professional
advisor); Peter Marsh, Professor of Child and Family Welfare, University of Sheffield (professional advisor);
Ivor Stolliday, Secretary, The Dartington Hall Trust; Penny Thompson, Executive Director, Sheffield Social
Services; Bernard Walker, Director, Wigan Social Services Department; Simon Westwood, Assistant Director,
Children and Families, Birmingham Social Services Department; Jo Williams, Director, Cheshire Social Services
Department.

A Scrutiny Panel assists the Management Board.

Its members are:
Celia Atherton, Director, research in practice; Ray Jones, member of the Management Board and Director, Wiltshire Adult and Community Services; Chris Rainey, Research Manager, West Sussex Social Services Department and research in practice Link Officer; Ruth Sinclair, Director of Research, National Children's Bureau; Margaret Sutherland, freelance consultant and retired Assistant Director, Staffordshire Social Services Department; Caroline Thomas, Research Liaison Officer, Department of Health: Research and Development.

finances
Income 2001-2002

Expenditure 2001-2002

for more information please contact:

Celia Atherton at research in practice
Blacklers, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EQ
tel: 01803 867692
email: celia@rip.org.uk

Colleen Eccles at research in practice
Children and Families Research Group, Elmfield
University of Sheffield S10 2TU tel: 0114 222 6484
email: c.eccles@sheffield.ac.uk

For Membership enquiries please contact:
sal@rip.org.uk , tel: 01803 867692