Research can be a vital tool to understand how we can improve social work practice. The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's has joined other organisations including local authorities, universities, the National Institute for Health & Care Research, and other groups in asserting the importance of research in Adult Social Care. The Charter for Social Work Research in Adult Social Care sets a vision for, and outlines a pathway to, greater engagement with research in the social work profession.

In the foreword to the Charter, the Chief Social Worker for Adults in England, Lyn Romeo, notes that ‘Research is never an optional extra, indeed in these challenging times it is more important than ever’.

People in a range of roles – social work practitioners and managers, university researchers and people with lived experience – are increasingly coming together to make this a reality.

The NIHR Policy Research Unit's contribution to the document was led by its Director, Prof Jill Manthorpe.

This publication

Research Advisory Group for the Chief Social Worker for Adults (2023) A Charter for Social Work Research in Adult Social Care. Birmingham: BASW.

Header image: from the cover of the Charter