The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care is pleased to announce a partnership with the University of Liverpool and together with its not-for-profit care provider members to deliver an Adult Social Care Testbed.
The Testbed is a collaborative project with industry partners, NCF members, their workforce and the people they provide care and support to and is funded by the Liverpool City Region Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme. The project aims to develop innovative tech products and services, catalyse the use of social care data and upskill the care workforce in the Liverpool City Region (LCR). Through this work, it seeks to nurture inclusive growth and help transform the care and support experienced by working-aged adults with disabilities and the region’s growing ageing population. NCF members will collaborate with tech and data partners and all parties will be invited to benefit from access to the University’s cutting-edge research and engineering expertise.
A recent report published by the Health and Care Select Committee illustrates that adult social care is under pressure and needs urgent reform. In 2023/24, local authorities received more than 2 million support requests. In Cheshire and Merseyside, 10% of working-age adults work in care, while an estimated 9% are unpaid carers. Around 23% of adults regard themselves as disabled. Together, more than 40% of the region’s adults are actively involved in the provision or receipt of care and support. The Testbed aims to harness the professional expertise and lived experience they represent to establish LCR as a pioneer in CareTech development. This week marked a significant milestone as key stakeholders convened for the inaugural meeting of provider organisations involved in the Testbed, laying the groundwork for a future where data and technology empower care givers and recipients, leading to better outcomes and experiences.
Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF said: “We’re delighted to have brought together our members from the Liverpool City Region to join us in breaking ground on this pioneering and ambitious project that will revolutionise the provision of adult social care. The Adult Social Care Testbed for the Liverpool City Region brings together a unique collective of care providers, their workforce and those they provide care and support to, academic experts, technical professionals and industry leaders. Together this cohort will co-design, test and evaluate data driven and tech-enabled social care solutions, setting a new benchmark for innovation in adult social care and charting an exciting course towards care for the future and the role not-for-profit providers will play in that journey.
“The breadth and depth of social care and support provision represented by this project is truly inspiring and reflects the abundance of innovative thinking and expertise that exists amongst our not-for-profit members in the Liverpool City Region. I look forward to the exciting work that is ahead of us and presenting our members with a number of immediate opportunities. These include the chance to go through a data and digital maturity exercise and digital skills training together with participating in a pilot for the Care Technologist training and joining the Care Innovation Challenge. This very special collaboration will yield many milestones and achievements, and we look forward to sharing these in due course.”
Mark Fox, Managing Director of New Directions, a provider of care for adults of all ages with disabilities as well as older people with age related conditions including dementia, commented: “This new collaboration has such potential to improve partnerships between care providers in the region built on evidence based data and shared ambitions to grasp technology, help upskill our workforce and improve impact and outcomes for the people we support. The speed at which data can be correlated and solutions created, tested and evaluated using the scientific expertise within the university’s Virtual Engineering Centre and tech providers is a very exciting opportunity for Liverpool City Region and we’re proud to sign up to the Testbed.”
Professor Iain Buchan, W.H. Duncan Chair in Public Health Systems, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation, and Director of Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL) said: “The CHI-Zone is hard-wired for collaboration, particularly across the health-social care divide, where shared data and innovative technologies can greatly improve health and social wellbeing together. We are seeding new opportunities to innovate involving academics, frontline professionals, and people with lived experience of health and care challenges. Our Adult Social Care Testbed will take an agile approach to co-designing solutions, making better use of data, supporting the development and evaluation of innovative technologies, and upskilling the care workforce. This will transform the experience of those receiving care whilst boosting the region’s economy.”
Councillor Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Cabinet Member for Innovation, commented: “Delivering high-quality adult social care to an ageing population is one of the key issues facing society today. This Testbed is a really exciting response to that challenge and offers the real possibility of delivering care differently, through using data, innovative technologies and training. Delivered through the CHI-Zone it is exactly the type of project we want to support as part of our Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme and I am looking forward to seeing what solutions it creates.”
The £160m Life Sciences Innovation Zone Programme forms part of the Government’s national Investment Zone Programme, positioning the City Region as a powerhouse for health and life sciences innovation. CHI-Zone is spearheading the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other data-driven technologies to transform health and social care – raising international visibility and driving exports from the LCR.
