Making Research Count

Your Route to Knowledge-Based Practice in Social Work and Social Care

Making Research Count is a national collaborative research dissemination initiative, established by a consortium of universities (including the ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ) and developed by regional centres.

The consortium of universities has a proven track record in social work and social care research as well as providing social work education at qualifying and post qualifying levels. These common interests provide a foundation to promote "knowledge-based practice" in social work and social care.

These university-based regional centres have formed collaborative partnerships with member agencies, to promote and develop knowledge-based practice and improve services in social work, social care and their interface with allied agencies in the statutory and voluntary sector.

Each regional centre has established a unique approach to knowledge based practice based on the needs of local partnerships. This has included:

  • Workshops, seminars and developmental events
  • Support to develop an agency approach to knowledge-based practice
  • Shared regional knowledge-based events
  • Conferences
  • Production of national and local research summaries
  • A website

The ÑÇÉ«ÊÓƵ's partners each pay an annual subscription in return for a negotiated range of services.

Making Research Count provides:

An extensive programme of events for those working in/with social work and social care;

Regular events specifically for those in Workforce Development;

Monthly, online journal clubs, one for Children’s Social Work/Care and one for Adult Social Work/Care, that meet to identify and discuss key areas of emerging social work research/policy. See Research Forums for more information

  • Access to recordings of our ‘expert speaker’ webinars;
  • Topic-specific resource lists. E.g:
    • Child Sexual Exploitation;
    • County Lines;
    • Domestic Violence and Abuse;
    • Professional Resilience;
    • Working With Racial/Ethnic Diversity;
  • A quarterly newsletter, with details of our forthcoming events and other, research-related news items. View the latest issue
  • Access to specialist support, consultancy, etc., at discounted rates.

Our partners

If you would like information on joining MRC, please contact Gayanthi Hapuarachchi, Co-ordinator, at gayanthi.hapuarachchi@beds.ac.uk