Making Research Count

Lead university staff
Ann McDonald, Head of School of Social Work & Psychology

Emeritus Professor June Thoburn
j.thoburn@uea.ac.uk

Coordinator: Sue Bailey
s.e.bailey@uea.ac.uk

Members
Norfolk County Council, Essex County Council, Peterborough City Council and Suffolk County Council.

Regional approach
Each member agency negotiates with UEA as to the content of their Making Research Count programme, and four half-day dissemination events are delivered to each authority separately around their chosen topics. Issues addressed recently have included attachment theory, placement permanency, long-term fostering and the independent fostering sector, resilience, contact after adoption, the impact of parental mental ill heath on children and their families, neglect, assessment, the roles and tasks of a social worker, and the interpretation of the looked-after children statistics. Sessions not only allow for dissemination and discussion of the most recent research findings on the topic in question, but also provide an opportunity to talk through issues relevant to both policy makers and practitioners. In addition the member agencies come together annually for a regional conference, with recent conferences taking place either at UEA in Norwich, or at Ely in Cambridgeshire. Regional conference topics have included family support, the common assessment framework, serious case reviews and the research governance framework for social care.

Making Research Count is also keen to develop and strengthen the research-mindedness and critical appraisal skills of practitioners, helping them to know where to access relevant research findings, and how to interpret and evaluate the material once found. Member agencies are encouraged to develop an evidence based practice strategy to provide for the continuing professional development of their staff, and to promote the use of research in social care and the development of a research minded culture at the organisational level.

UEA was one of the founder universities of Making Research Count in 1997. Most faculty and research staff in the School contribute to the delivery of the programme, thus providing for member agencies a breadth of knowledge and expertise.

The university department in which the regional programme has been developed:
The School of Social Work and Psychology at the University of East Anglia (UEA) is a leading academic department dedicated to research and teaching in social work, social policy, psychology and psychosocial sciences. A wide range of Undergraduate, Post-Qualifying and Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research programmes are offered.

The School has an international reputation for the quality of its research, with particular strengths in child and family social work, child care practice, policy and planning, adoption and foster care, attachment theory, parenting and family relationships, family support and policy, and the interaction of law and social work. The School is home to the internationally renowned Centre for Research on the Child and Family.

Website
Information about the work of Making Research Count at UEA is available at:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/swp/research/socialworkresearch/mrc

Information about the School can be accessed via:
http://www.uea.ac.uk/swp