Adult social care often struggles to translate research, professional expertise and lived experience into meaningful improvements for people who draw on care and support. IMPACT addresses this challenge by helping organisations across the UK implement evidence-informed changes in frontline services, policy and practice. Working with universities, care providers, policymakers, practitioners, unpaid carers and people with lived experience, the programme combines co-production with practical implementation support to improve services in real-world settings. Rather than simply sharing evidence, IMPACT helps organisations apply, evaluate and sustain change through tailored improvement projects, collaborative networks and implementation tools. This approach strengthens workforce capability, builds partnerships across sectors and supports more integrated, person-centred care. By the end of 2027, IMPACT will have delivered more than 200 improvement projects across the UK. Evaluation shows the programme has improved service quality, strengthened collaboration, increased the use of co-production and supported lasting changes in policy and practice that benefit people using adult social care.

Visit Website →

Children and young people deprived of parental care remain at risk of institutionalisation due to gaps in community-based child protection services and limited alternatives to residential care. Child Protection with a Human Rights Approach (CPHRA) addresses this challenge by developing a rights-based model for child protection that supports deinstitutionalisation and strengthens family- and community-based care across Greece. Led by the Social Administration Research Laboratory at the University of West Attica in partnership with the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Family, the project brings together researchers, policymakers, service providers and child protection professionals to analyse the current system and identify practical reforms. Through multidisciplinary research, stakeholder engagement and evidence-based recommendations, the project aims to improve coordination across the child protection system and promote services that better safeguard children's rights and wellbeing. The initiative is expected to benefit more than 1,600 children and young people in alternative care, over 550 foster families and more than 1,300 professionals, providing a foundation for a lasting reform of Greece's child protection system in accordance with UN, Council of Europe and EU legislation and practice.

Visit Website →

People using social services do not always have meaningful opportunities to express their views or influence the support they receive, despite this being a fundamental right. The French National Authority for Health (HAS) addresses this challenge by providing a national programme that helps organisations gather, understand and act on the experiences and expectations of people using social services. Co-developed with service users, professionals and researchers, the programme combines evidence-based guidance, practical tools, accessible resources and tailored recommendations for different groups, including people with dementia, young children and people experiencing homelessness. It also supports organisations through a growing community of practice, encouraging continuous learning and improvements across the sector. By embedding users' perspectives into service design, delivery and evaluation, the initiative strengthens person-centred care while promoting collaboration between public authorities, providers and people with lived experience. The programme is designed to benefit around 3.4 million people using social services across France and has already generated strong stakeholder engagement and widespread uptake.

Visit Website →

Social services need robust ways to demonstrate their quality and impact while responding to increasingly complex needs and delivering more personalised support. The Gipuzkoa Quality Standards Framework addresses this challenge by providing a common evaluation model that measures not only organisational performance but also the outcomes that matter most to people using services. Developed by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa with the Future Agency for Evaluation of Care and Social Policies and the European Social Network, the framework combines research evidence, international quality models and person-centred principles into a shared set of standards, indicators and evaluation methods. By creating a common language for assessing services, organisations and social policies, it strengthens collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement across the social services system. The framework is currently being piloted in nine social service settings, bringing together service users, families, professionals and external experts to validate its approach and support evidence-informed improvements across Gipuzkoa.

Visit Website →

Children can face limited opportunities to influence their education, which can affect motivation, wellbeing, creativity and preparation for real-world challenges. The Research on Self-Directed Democratic Education in Primary School Settings explores how giving children greater autonomy and participation in school decision-making can support their learning and development. Implemented since 2020 in Slovakia, the initiative connects everyday school practice with long-term research, bringing together educators, researchers, psychologists, families, legal experts and the wider community. Children participate in decisions about their learning and school environment, while data on motivation, social relationships, competencies, wellbeing and academic outcomes are collected and analysed over time. The research is supervised by Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra and supported by national and international partners, creating links between practice, research and education policy. More than 200 students with special educational needs participate in the programmes, while longitudinal research running from 2021 to 2030 is building evidence to inform future education reform in Slovakia.

Visit Website →

Social work services in Northern Ireland face increased demand, creating high caseloads, workloads and workforce pressures that can affect staff wellbeing and continuity of support. In response, the Office of Social Services (Department of Health, NI) developed the first region-wide, evidence-informed framework for safer and effective staffing in social work, offering a pioneering approach to workforce sustainability and service quality. The guidance was shaped by research and engagement with over 270 social work teams and practitioner groups, alongside research with the Public Health Agency on service users, families and carers. It recommends safer caseload management, supervision, workforce planning, skills mix, wellbeing, retention and professional development. Covering around 5,116 social workers, implementation is supported by twenty familiarisation events in 2026 and a system-wide caseload assessment. By promoting safer staffing, the framework aims to strengthen relationship-based practice, workforce resilience and outcomes, offering valuable learning for social work systems across Europe.

Visit Website →

Children and families involved in child welfare often face interconnected challenges, while services can remain fragmented across child protection, mental health, education, substance use and youth support. SOILA addresses this challenge by strengthening professionals' capacity to develop, evaluate and scale social innovations that create more coordinated, person-centred child welfare services. Led by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare with the Central Union for Child Welfare and Pesäpuu Association, the project connects 29 regional projects across Finland with professionals, service providers, researchers and people with lived experience of child welfare. Its open innovation training supports participants through experimentation, implementation, scaling and systemic change, combining co-creation, peer learning, evaluation and research. Children, young people and families contribute directly to the development and evaluation of innovations, ensuring that services respond to lived experience and real needs. Early findings show stronger skills in co-creation, evaluation and scaling, increased participation of people with lived experience and a shared approach to social innovation across regional child welfare ecosystems.

Visit Website →

Differences in professional assessments and decisions that are not explained by people's needs can undermine equity, consistency and quality in social work. The Social Services Department of Azienda USL Toscana Centro addresses this challenge through an Audit and Feedback approach that uses routinely collected data, peer review and structured professional reflection to identify and reduce unwarranted variability. Social workers and managers work together to interpret indicators, investigate the causes of differences and co-design improvement actions, linking quantitative evidence with knowledge from everyday practice. This collaborative approach supports shared standards, organisational learning and more person-centred services across a complex territorial system covering 72 municipalities and more than 1.6 million residents. Since its launch in late 2024, the project has involved many social workers and expanded to additional indicators and areas of practice. Early results show greater consistency in the use of social assessment tools, reduced unexplained variation and stronger alignment between services, contributing to more reliable and equitable social work practice.

Visit Website →