Lead Organisation: DEEP
We are passionate in the Developing Evidence Enriched Practice (DEEP) programme about making the world of social care a better place. We think a helpful key to unlock the potential of social care, is evidence
Gill Toms, Research and Practice Development Officer, School of Health Sciences, Bangor University
We believe in the value of using different types of evidence to inform social care practice and policy:
- Research and evaluation evidence
- Lived experience
- Practitioner knowledge
- Organisational knowledge
Every type of evidence is valuable. What matters is using the right combinations of evidence at the right time and in the right way.
DEEP does not give you a set method for doing this. Instead it provides a set of principles that can be put into practice through various methods to ensure that evidence use will be impactful. These principles are accessible to everyone.
DEEP principles
- Valuing and using a range of evidence – taking a democratic approach, which promotes the value of diverse types of ‘evidence’
- Creating an enriched environment of care and learning – facilitating the creation of inclusive and safe spaces, within which people feel valued and able to share their thoughts and feelings in relation to learning and development
- Gathering and presenting evidence in meaningful formats – gathering and presenting evidence in formats that engage both the head and the heart. For example, stories, art, poems, and provocative statements
- Effectively talking and thinking together about diverse types of evidence, which may conflict – Using dialogue-learning techniques to support the inclusive and equitable exploration of diverse types of evidence, involving everyone concerned
- Recognising and addressing structural obstacles – Addressing the issues that obstruct the use of evidence in practice.
These principles were developed through a participatory action research project and our programme of work is now funded by Welsh Government through Health and Care Research Wales.
The best place to find out more about DEEP is our website.
You will see that we are:
- Working on an evaluation of what DEEP is achieving
- Developing training in DEEP approaches
- Providing online resources to support people to use DEEP approaches in their own work
- Facilitating work in priority areas, including short breaks and outcomes recording
- Supporting research development
You can join the DEEP mailing list to receive regular updates of our work and there are opportunities to register for DEEP events.