How are the cost and benefits associated with adult social care expected to change over time and what are the determining factors of this change?
Background
Adult social care plays a critical role in supporting the health, wellbeing, and independence of Scotland’s population, particularly among older adults and those with long-term conditions or disabilities.
As Scotland faces demographic shifts – notably an ageing population – the demand for adult social care services is expected to rise significantly. This trend presents both challenges and opportunities for the public sector, which has a vested interest in ensuring that care provision is sustainable, equitable, and economically efficient.
However, the economic value and social value of adult social care – which can help decision makers – is not fully understood, with existing datasets often being fragmented, inconsistent, or lacking in granularity. This can make it difficult to accurately quantify the full economic costs and benefits of care provision, the social value of care to service users and communities, assess the long-term value of different care models or understand the indirect economic impacts, such as on unpaid carers, workforce participation, and healthcare system pressures.
We, therefore, want to progress towards addressing these gaps in evidence base and understanding.
Next steps
Get in touch with [email protected]
Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Social Care Analytical Unit Areas of Research Interest 2026 2029 published 25 March 2026
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Related UKRI funded projects
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University of Brighton and Guild Care KTP 23_24 R1
To develop a monitoring and evaluation framework assessing the social impact of adult social care interventions to inform service design and engage donors to invest in new care approaches....
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on assessing social impact of adult social care interventions.
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Carers Assessment Support
**A difficult time to care** Across the UK our social care system is more stretched than ever with increased demand and decreasing budgets. The lack of capacity in the system is placing additional pressures on the unpa...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: UPSTREAM OUTCOMES LIMITED
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it addresses the challenges faced by unpaid carers in the social care system.
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Centre for Care
The Centre for Care is a collaboration between the universities of Sheffield, Birmingham, Kent and Oxford, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Office for National Statistics, Carers UK, the National...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Sheffield
Why might this be relevant?
Fully relevant as it focuses on providing new evidence and thinking for policymakers and care sector organizations on care systems.