Social Care Research Community in Northwest London Gathers for ARC NWL 2nd Annual Conference

On Tuesday 10 March 2026, the ARC NWL Social Care Team welcomed 70 guests to their second annual conference. This year, the theme focused on ‘Bringing Social Care Research To Life: Reflecting, Showcasing, Envisioning’, with an aim of celebrating research that makes a difference, now and into the future.

This conference was delivered as part of the two-year Social Care Research Capacity Building Programme led by the ARC NWL, in collaboration with Brunel University of London. This programme aims to enrich social care through meaningful and relevant research work and linking the research that already exists with policy and practice. The programme is led by Professor Fiona Verity, Brunel University of London.

The conference had several key themes and aims that were addressed throughout the day, including: 

• Sharing social care research that is happening in North West London, bringing this research to life.

• Sharing lessons and practices about what works well in building research cultures and capacity for evidence-enriched practice in social care organisations across North West London.

• Enhancing research capacity building and skill development for research in social care.

Opening Remarks

Professor Azeem Majeed (Imperial College London) and Professor Fiona Verity opened the day, highlighting the importance of why we gathered to discuss and share experiences of social care research in North West London.

Professor Fiona Verity drew the attendees’ attention to the challenge posed by Baroness Casey, who is leading an independent Commission examining the future of adult social care in England and national conversation.  She stated in her speech “The challenge for all of us is to get this right and it is a collective one’.

Keynote Address: Reframing the way we talk about social care to build better care and support

The keynote address was delivered by Maria Castellina, Director of Impact at Frameworks UK. Maria’s talk focused on how to reframe and shift the stories that are told about social care, as she writes ‘…away from a narrative of a broken system there to care for the vulnerable, towards a story that focuses on all of us having the chance to live a good life, where we can make a valued contribution, with meaning, purpose and connection’. Maria’s session explored the research that underpins this approach to reframing social care and offered practical ways/recommendations for how to tell this story. The full report is available here How to talk about social care - FrameWorks UK.

Research in North West London

Following a morning break, the next session of the day highlighted research in North West London. We were joined by Dr Mike Clarke (LSE), and Dr Shadreck Mwale (Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory, University of West London).

Mike’s presentation explored conceptual ways of understanding social work and social care practice, particularly drawing on work examining strengths-based approaches, from a relational theoretical perspective. It covered the implications of this deeper way of thinking for practice, including ideas of in/dependence, dis/empowerment, understanding people's strengths and a range of ‘relational goods’ including trust and hope. These are discussed in a paper written by Mike and colleagues and published in the British Journal of Social Work: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf178

Dr Shadreck Mwale’s insightful presentation discussed emerging findings from a recently completed evidence synthesis examining experiences of African and African Caribbean People living with dementia in the UK.  Drawing on a review of literature published in a period of over 20 years, the presentation explored

and compared how existing explanations for support seeking are framed in research literature and understood by the community. Powerful and important lessons were offered for those working to improving access to services for minoritised communities. This work is part of the ACE Study (The African and Caribbean Elders (ACE) study funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. (NIHR160824).

Breakout Sessions

After a lunch break filled with networking, parallel breakout sessions took place.

Session 1 highlighted community initiatives taking place in Brent Local Authority, whilst Session 2 explored initiatives taking place in the London Borough of Hillingdon where practitioners and researchers are working together for change.  

Presentations included:

• ‘Exploring the narrative of ‘SEND’, Dr Roxanna Glennon, Brent Local Authority

• ‘Coproduction in Brent Adult Social Care’, Daniella Harnett, Professor Fiona Verity, Chioma Maduekwe, Michelle Rivers and Marie O’Connell

• ‘It all started with a brief meeting: Brunel Social Work and Trinity Homeless Projects collaborations on reducing homelessness’, Lz McLaughlin (Trinity) and Dr Cristina Asenjo Palma (Brunel University)

• ‘Co Creating Knowledge: Strengthening the Practice–Research Relationship in Hillingdon’, Mike Thomas (Brunel University) and Rachel Hepburn (Hillingdon Local Authority)

Community Research

For the afternoon session we were joined by Santiago Ripoll and Janine Shaw from the Institute of Development Studies, and Yasmin Feisal and Rawaan Abdalla, Community Researchers at London Borough of Ealing’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). The session explored the experiences of academic and community member researchers on their journey through the Systems Participatory Action Research (SPAR) process. Community researchers have collected and collectively analysed evidence related to wider social determinants of health, culminating in the formation of 6 action research groups. We heard about what it means to conduct systemic participatory action research, and the teams’ collective reflections – by community and academic researchers- on the challenges and opportunities that arise when aiming to live up to participatory action research principles and embed participatory processes in practice.  

Afternoon Workshop

To wrap up the day, Professor Fiona Verity and Dr Wendy Martin facilitated a workshop focused on the future. Commencing in April 2026, a Social Care Theme ‘Planning and Delivering Social Care’ in Northwest London will be part of the NIHR funded Oxford Thames Valley Applied Research Collaboration (ARC).

The Theme has three areas of work: Prevention in Social Care, Equity in Social Care and Hospital to Home. The workshop explored priorities for applied collaborative research across each of these areas of work, gaining key insights from the conference attendees.

Event Wrap Up

Ganesh Sathyamoorthy, Assistant Director at ARC NWL, closed the day with a compelling reflection on the importance of storytelling and the need for innovative approaches to truly connect with communities. He also marked the moment by acknowledging that this conference represents the final official event of ARC NWL, a memorable conclusion to its impactful journey.

Reflections

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended, as well as to the entire Conference Organising Committee, whose hard work and collaboration made the day such a success.

The conference was an inspiring event that brought together colleagues from a wide range of sectors across Northwest London to share insights, innovations, and opportunities for partnership.

As we look ahead, the Social Care theme will be delivering future applied and collaborative research as part of the NIHR‑funded Oxford Thames Valley Applied Research Collaboration.

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