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 University of Bedfordshire) 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 University of Bedfordshire'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.

• View details of our current programme of events

Our partners

• Bedford Borough Council
• Birmingham Children's Trust
• Bracknell Forest Council
• Buckinghamshire County Council
• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• Cheshire West and Chester Safeguarding Children Partnership
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Just For Kids Law
• Leeds City Council
• London Borough of Barnet
• London Borough of Brent
• London Borough of Enfield
• London Borough of Hackney
• London Borough of Haringey
• London Borough of Islington
• London Borough of Newham
• London Borough of Redbridge
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Luton Borough Council
• Milton Keynes Council
• North East London Integrated Care Board
• North Lanarkshire Council
• Northamptonshire Children's Trust
• Oak Fostering
• Oxfordshire County Council
• Peterborough City Council
• Reading Children’s Services (Brighter Futures)
• Slough Children's Services Trust
• Stockport Council
• Wokingham Borough Council

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