Social Care and Society at The University of Manchester is a leading research group for social care research, in the UK and internationally.
We collaborate with academic partners and with the infrastructure supporting research in care and health. A growing portfolio of research is linked to capacity building of social care university and practitioner-researchers.
Our work programmes
At SCS Manchester, our work programmes are framed around four themes:
- health and social care delivery;
- social and health care in the criminal and civil justice system;
- innovative use of data to improve social care practice;
- mental health social care.
We aim to:
- provide a focus and leadership for adult social care research within The University of Manchester;
- conduct high-quality peer-reviewed research to produce new knowledge to inform the development of social care practice;
- encourage and support collaborative research for social care across the University, other universities and funders, primarily the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR);
- develop research capacity in social care through the development of staff.
Learn more about us.
About us
Social Care and Society receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UKRI and other research funders.
SCS collaborates and partners with:
- The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Greater Manchester
- Institute for Health Policy and Organisation, University of Manchester
- The South Asia Self Harm Initiative (SASHI) Research
- The NIHR North-West Regional Research Delivery Network (RRDN)
- The national Specialist Centre for Social Care, part of the NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Hub delivered by the University of Lancaster and Partners
Our history
From 2019 Social Care and Society has led on a growing focus for social care research across the University of Manchester, collaborating with a range of academic and service delivery partners and institutions on applied research.
What we do
Our work programme leads are responsible for research activities in four different areas. These activities are competitively funded and include research projects, collaborations and core developmental activities for research staff.
We work with research staff across The University of Manchester and externally, promoting and undertaking social care research.
Collaborations include those with:
- NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM)
- NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety and Translational Research Centre (PSTRC)
- Institute for Health Policy and Organisation (IHPO)
We work with other parts of the NIHR to promote social care research and develop capacity. This includes the Research Support Service (RSS) Hub and national Specialist Centre for Social Care, and the Regional Research Delivery Network (RDN), including the Enabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) initiative and dedicated home care research initiative.
We also work with Greater Manchester local authorities in developing their social care research capacity, including a portfolio of studies aiming to use routinely generated data on social care for evaluation and service development and through the Greater Manchester Social Work Academy.
Who we are
The Manchester SCS Group is:
Professor Catherine Robinson
Professor of Social Care Research, Director of Social Care and Society; Capacity-Building Lead; management team
Catherine is Professor of Social Care Research and Director of Social Care and Society which is a leading research group in social care, long-term care and global mental health.
Catherine’s research interests have centred on the interface between health care and social care, family care, mental health social care, and self-harm and suicide. She has led a series of funded research capability strengthening initiatives in Wales, England and more recently internationally. Her current research portfolio includes research on the social care needs of people serving custodial sentences and on release; the effects of COVID-19 on the social care workforce; self-harm surveillance in South Asia; mental health and social care; and, the use of routinely collected social care data.
Catherine is the social care research lead for a number of infrastructure initiatives, including the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Greater Manchester and the NIHR Patient Safety and Research Collaborative. She is the academic lead of the newly formed NIHR Specialist Social Care Centre as part of the Lancaster University and Partners NIHR Research Support Service (RSS) Hub.
Catherine leads the NIHR Mental Health Social Care Research Incubator which will launch in January 2024. She is passionate about developing strong and sustainable careers and is supervisor and mentor to a number of emerging research leaders and early career researchers in the UK.
Dr Paul Clarkson
Senior Lecturer in Social Care/Deputy Director of Social Care and Societ.
Capacity-Building Team, management team
Dr Paul Clarkson is Deputy Director of SCS at Manchester. He leads on collaborative research in Manchester and other universities with a focus on digital social care and data analytics using routine data, dementia support, trials and observational studies. He is part of international partnerships in ageing assessment and promotes innovative public participation methods. He is also social care specialty lead for the NIHR North-West Regional Research Delivery Network (RDN) and senior advisor for the Research Support Service Specialist Social Care Centre.
Read Paul’s research profile.
Dr Katrina Forsyth
Dr Rebecca McPhillips
Sioned Davies
Noor Butt
Dr Reena Lasrado
Sue Davies
Adam O'Neill
Amelia Pearson
Professor Vimal Sharma
Kate Stalker
Research Assistant, Social Care and Society
Bethany Warwick
Kim Barnett
Honorary Research Assistant
Centre of Mental Health and Society
After completing my undergraduate degree and MRes in Criminology at Lancaster University I took a move away from academia and spent the following decade working in substance misuse and mental health services with offender populations. This led me to work both in the UK and New Zealand developing and delivering various programmes within female and male prisons, gang initiatives, the Drug Court, residential rehabilitation, and respite services. During this time my interest grew in understanding the aetiology of substance misuse, the effectiveness of treatment interventions and drug policy. This was a motivator to my recent transition into research. Currently, I am working as part of the team on the ‘Substance Misuse Services Evaluation in HMP Berwyn: a mixed method study’ whilst undertaking my PhD under the guidance and supervision of Professor Rob Poole, Professor Catherine Robinson, and Dr Sadia Nafees.
University of Manchester
After completing my undergraduate degree and MRes in Criminology at Lancaster University, I stepped away from academia and spent the next decade working in substance misuse and mental health services within the criminal justice system, primarily in prisons. This work took me across the UK and New Zealand, where I developed and delivered programmes in male and female prisons, gang initiatives, the Drug Court, and residential rehabilitation and respite services. During this time, my interest in the aetiology of substance misuse, treatment effectiveness, and drug policy grew, motivating my recent transition back into research.
As part of research teams at both the University of Manchester and Bangor University, I have worked on studies focused on self-harm and suicide in low- and middle-income countries, social care needs of women in prison, and substance misuse treatment delivery in male prisons. In 2022, I began my PhD, which evaluates substance misuse services in a male prison and three to six months post-release using a narrative approach.
Dr Saqba Batool
Dr Claire Hargreaves
Honorary Research Associate
I am a quantitative social scientist, with over ten years experience in research focused on communities, criminal and family justice, and the interlinks with health and social care. My research involves large scale data linkage (including national and international administrative data), data management, statistical analysis and data visualisation, as well as primary data collection, survey design and public engagement.
Paul Hine
Honorary Research Fellow
Before co-founding Made By Mortals (MBM) in 2017, Paul worked for 12 years as a freelance dramatist and project manager using creativity to engage underserved communities and drive social change. During this time, he worked for many cultural and social organisations across the North West, including The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Camerata (orchestra), Cheshire East Council, The Together Trust (children’s charity), and Bolton at Home (social housing group.)
As CEO of Made By Mortals (MBM), Paul has supported hundreds of people with a broad range of lived experience to bring their experience to life through participatory arts practice, producing films, audio stories, theatre, music, and interactive workshops. Paul has written and co-written articles about MBMs creative methodology that have been published in Public Money & Management magazine, Child and Adolescent Mental Health journal, and Research Involvement and Engagement journal. Under Paul’s leadership and using MBMs approach, MBM has won Audio Production Awards (Grassroots Production) 2023, Manchester Publicity Awards (Best Audio) 2023, Royal Society of Public Health: Health and Wellbeing Awards (Arts in Health) 2022
Outstanding Contribution to PPIE Awards University of Manchester 2022, British Podcasting Awards (Bronze) 2022, BBC Making a Difference Award (Community) 2022, and Digital City Awards (Best Use of Tech by a Non-profit) 2022. Paul is currently co-lead and PPI lead on multiple health and social care research projects and MBM are delivering their creative approach across the research and health and social care sector.
Dr Baber Malik
Honorary Research Fellow
Dr. Baber Malik is an honorary researcher at Social Care and Society, with over a decade of experience in dementia research and health and social care. His work primarily focuses on advancing knowledge and improving care outcomes for people with dementia.
As an Honorary Research Fellow, Dr. Malik provides key insights into dementia research within hard-to-reach communities, including Black and Minority Ethnic groups. His PhD research centred on improving diagnostic assessments for these communities, and he continues to explore the challenges faced by vulnerable groups. This ongoing research has deepened his understanding of dementia and its impact on diverse populations.
Previously, Dr. Malik was a Clinical Trial Manager/Project Lead at the University of Manchester, where he managed national dementia studies aimed at improving the understanding of devolution in health and social care in Greater Manchester and diagnosis and treatment for dementia. At Social Care and Society, he applies his extensive experience to support and advance research in dementia care.
Dr Christopher Murray
Dr Sue Tucker
Honorary Research Assistant
Sue retired from the University of Manchester at the end of September, 2021, but remains an Honorary Research Associate at Social Care and Society (formerly the Personal Social Services Research Unit), an independent unit that conducts high quality research on the provision of health and social care with a view to informing policy and practice.
Having originally trained as a general and a mental health nurse, Sue specialised in the care of older people with mental health problems, and held a variety of clinical, managerial and research posts in the NHS before moving to the University.
After joining the University in 2003 Sue worked on a number of projects concerned with identifying the most appropriate and cost-effective ways of organising and delivering services for older people with mental health problems. These included a series of ‘Balance of Care’ studies which aimed to identify the optimal mix of community and institutional, health and social care services to provide for this client group. She also applied to the same methodology to explore the needs of working age adults with mental health problems, and people in prison, and more recently completed a series of studies on the services needed by prisoners with social care needs, in custody and on release.
Leo Wall
Honorary Research Fellow
I currently work for Manchester City Council as a Performance and Insight Lead in our Performance, Research and Intelligence service. I manage a team of data, performance reporting, analytical and evaluation specialists supporting Adults and Children’s Social Care providing expert support to these services to enable them to make best use to data and research that inform evidence-based decisions. My focus is on the implementation of high-quality statistical analysis and models to improve the insight that can be gained from routinely collected data across health, social care and system integration to evidence strategic and operational decisions. I led the evaluation of new care models to understand the impact of almost £100m investment in Manchester via the Greater Manchester Transformation Fund to support the integration of health and social care services.
I lead Manchester City Council Performance and Intelligence Team’s contribution to Data Analytic Partnership with Social Care and Society Research Group, Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.
Dr David Wood
Senior Research Fellow
David Wood is a highly experienced senior management professional and leader, with a demonstrable track record in developing strategic approaches designed to support maximising the delivery of healthcare quality and safety to people who access healthcare. He started his career in the NHS in 2000 and is currently an associate director in the quality directorate at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), which is a provider of services to two million people across the North West. David is also the supervisor of the management of regulated physical, mental health and learning disability care activity for CWP.
In his professional role with CWP, David has acted as a national advisor, including:
- ‘Recommendations to Impact’ representative (Health Services Safety Investigations Body, since 2024)
- ‘Learning to be Safer Expert and Advisory Group’ member (Health Education England, 2016)
- ‘Director of assurance’ representative (NHS Providers’ Quality Reference Group, 2015)
- ‘National Audit & Governance Group’ member (Department of Health, 2004 –2008)
David has also regularly contributed to the work of commissioners, regulators, public bodies and royal colleges, and has presented at international conferences on the subjects of quality and safety. This has included presentations on these subjects as evidence-based scientific disciplines. The teams he has led have won two national awards, namely a clinical audit award for patient involvement, and a patient safety award for early stage innovation.
As a researcher, David is committed to translational research, has had posters shortlisted twice by ‘Translation Manchester’, and has actively contributed to professional and research publications. David’s PhD thesis was entitled ‘A mixed methods study exploring serious incident frameworks in mental health Trusts in England’. He was awarded his doctoral degree by The University of Manchester in May 2024. David used a multi-phase, sequential mixed methods research design to determine findings concerning the complex, systemic factors that influence patient safety efforts. His thesis was complemented by the successful publication of four peer reviewed journal articles.
Asif Butt
Honorary Research Fellow
Dr Olayemi Sadiku
Honorary Research Associate
SCS is also home to a number of local authority social care, third sector and NHS Trust collaborators.
Contact us
If you have any questions about SCS at Manchester, please contact one of our Social Care and Society Directors. Or email us at: SCSenquiries@manchester.ac.uk
Catherine Robinson (Director)
Email: catherine.robinson@manchester.ac.uk
Paul Clarkson (Deputy Director)
Email: paul.clarkson@manchester.ac.uk
Follow us on X/Twitter: @SCSManchester
Contact Us
+44 (0) 161 306 6000
