How does the social care market currently operate in Scotland in terms of the services which are commissioned and procured? What are the gaps and pressures in the social care market? What are examples of good practice models?
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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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?
The Centre for Care project addresses the urgent need for new evidence on care provision, quality, cost, unmet needs, and the situation of carers and care workers in the social care market in Scotland.
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ProjectCare: Disrupting the Social Care Industry with a Platform to Consumer Model
The social care sector in the UK is best by crisis. Several, overlapping crisises are rolled into one. Local authorities are struggling to find adequate funding for social care, with their spending power reduced by over ...
Funded by: ISCF
Lead research organisation: SITEKIT CARE LTD
Why might this be relevant?
ProjectCare aims to disrupt the social care market with a platform-to-consumer model, which could partially address gaps and pressures in the social care market in Scotland.
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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?
The University of Brighton and Guild Care project focuses on developing a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the social impact of adult social care interventions, which could partially address gaps in the social care market in Scotland.