Knowledge transer in social care and social work: PSSRU reports

[Jill Anderson]

Two discussion papers have been published by the Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics, and the Social Care Institute for Excellence, which focus on knowledge transfer in social care.

1.  Evidence-informed policy making: Exploring the concept of knowledge...(Discussion paper 2862, Matosevic et al 2013), reports on an exploratory study which examined the current thinking about the use of research evidence in social care policy and practice. Interviews were held with both social care researchers and social care policy makers. The paper includes sections covering what is meant by ‘knowledge transfer’ in social care, specific issues around knowledge transfer in social care, audiences for social care research, challenges, facilitators and opportunities, concluding with discussion on the priorities for social care researchers in setting their knowledge transfer strategies.

2.  Rutter and Fisher (Discussion paper 2866, 2013) in a second paper, ‘Knowledge transfer in social care and social work: Where is the pro..., discuss the interplay and influences of different types of evidence in social care practice, making particular reference to the way that research evidence makes its mark on practice and practitioners.