Research and practice in partnership in England

Rennolds, Natasha ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8169-534X, Burch, Katy and Johal, Sarah (2026) Research and practice in partnership in England. In: UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

Introduction/Background: The research/practice gap is well documented (Heinsch, Gray & Sharland, 2016; Denvall and Skillmark, 2021) including the imperative for people with lived experience and practitioners to be able to say where research is needed alongside the importance for research to be more widely disseminated and implemented to make a difference to people’s lives. This presentation will discuss the emerging learning from a partnership between Adoption England and researchers at Oxford Brookes University and University of East Anglia working to address this research/practice divide. Methods: Adoption England (AE) strives to support and strengthen adoption practice and services across England, working closely with the Department for Education, UK Government and Regional Adoption Agencies. AE sought a research partnership to help evaluate new initiatives and to understand the strengths and limitations of current practice to identify gaps and propose where change is needed. Following an open call for research partners, the partnership began in January 2024. Since then, the partnership has undertaken 10+ evaluations and research projects on topics as diverse as adopter recruitment & matching, early permanence, early support & disruptions, multi-disciplinary and financial support for adoption. Results: Working together has utilised the skills and knowledge across partners for maximum benefit. It has required a partnership based on transparency, fluidity and dynamism. Together we have produced a body of work capable of identifying with greater clarity the key areas for innovation, research and evaluation; highly participatory fieldwork; meaningful outputs and recommendations; timely, impactful dissemination; and actual changes to policy and practice. Examples of our achievements described above will be provided in the poster presentation. Discussions/Conclusions: We will also share the learning from this innovative partnership including: the strengths, challenges and risks of working together in this way; the logistics of managing this work; and the additional (non project-specific) benefits we believe this way of working brings.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2026 08:44
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2026 08:44
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103942
DOI:

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