Research approvals
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Adult social care departments are frequently asked to take part in research involving data collection, surveys, expert interviews, focus groups, and so on.
ADASS aims to ensure that the potential benefits from the work outweighs the time and effort involved. Given the number of requests received by local authorities from researchers, many Directors will only consider engagement with such work if it has been considered and endorsed by ADASS.
Process and Charges
If you are seeking to engage with four or more local authority adult social services departments please follow the process below.
Please note there is now a £240 (inc VAT), non-refundable, administrative charge for research submissions considered by ADASS. We do not release letters of endorsement until the fee has been paid. In exceptional circumstances where the research is not funded, then we can waive the fee.
The ADASS central team will initially review the suitability of a research application. If the application is obviously inappropriate or incomplete, then the applicant will be informed of this. The committee is very unlikely to support research applications that propose all-council surveys. Please contact the ADASS team to discuss alternatives.
If the application is appropriate, then it will be submitted for approval to ADASS’s Research and Branding Subcomittee. It will be at this point that we will contact you with the details of how to pay the £240 charge (inc VAT) for processing research applications.
Applications are considered on a regular basis. We aim to return a decision within a month, but it may take longer during holiday periods. If you are awaiting ethical approval, then we may be able to make a concurrent decision.
Once considered by ADASS Branding and Research Subcomittee, then the ADASS central team will write to inform the lead researcher of the outcome of discussions. If the research submission is approved for endorsement and payment has been made, then a formal letter will be issued that can be shared when approaching adult social services departments.
If you have any queries about the research approval process, then please send these to: team@adass.org.uk. Please use ‘Research Approval Query’ as your email header.
Please note that ADASS is not able to share our membership lists, even for the purposes of endorsed research.
Completing the application form
The application form is available to download below.
Your completed form can be emailed as an attachment and your email address will be taken as your signature.
Forms should be returned via email, along with your research proposal and supporting materials including ethical approvals, research tools, participation and consent letters to: team@adass.org.uk. Please use ‘Research Approval Application’ as your email header.