May 2026 will mark the first anniversary of the launch of the Adult Social Care Testbed in the Liverpool City Region. NCF is partnering with the University of Liverpool Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL) to deliver the testbed, together with 16 of its not-for-profit care and support provider members in the region, and in co-production with their workforce and the people they support.
The testbed is a unique research collaboration which brings together academics, care technology suppliers, adult social care organisations, care workers and people who draw on care and support services to co-design, produce and evaluate care technology alongside exploration of new data-driven insights.
Together, the participating providers support over 12,500 people with services delivered by more than 13,000 staff and volunteers and have a shared commitment to enhancing the quality and experience of care.
The participating organisations are:
- Abbeyfield Living Society.
- Alzheimer’s Society.
- Belong Villages.
- Brainkind.
- Community Integrated Care.
- Creative Support.
- L’arche.
- Local Solutions.
- Making Space.
- Mencap.
- Nautilus Welfare Fund.
- Nazareth Care.
- New Directions.
- Parkhaven Trust.
- Sanctuary Care.
- Shared Lives Plus.
Together, all participants share the same vision. That vision is one where care technology is co-produced with care and support providers, their workforce and the people who draw on services leading to a digitised adult social care sector where care workers are confident in their digital skills and organisations can draw on real-time insights and use data to make more informed business decisions.
Most importantly, at the heart of the testbed vision is the empowerment of people who draw on services, placing them, their families and carers at the centre of the evaluation and testing of new and emerging technologies to support their care.
Bringing the research together
In the first stage of this unique collaboration the provider organisations contributed to a vital research phase to create a better understanding of the challenges they face in approaching digital transformation. This included an assessment of the skills required by their workforce and the opportunities they envision being created through better use of data and technology to facilitate and augment the delivery of broad-ranging adult social care and support services.
That research underpinned the Discovering our Digital Potential report published in September 2025. This report sets out the results of a thorough investigation into the current provider landscape in the region and the challenges members are grappling with around data and insights, technology and infrastructure and skills and workforce. It also charts a course for the future digitisation of their organisations and the promise this holds for people in the region and beyond.
The ambitions providers shared with us included better use of data and technology for daily decision making, digital upskilling of staff to give care and support workers the confidence to turn recorded data into insights and enabling people drawing on services to become better connected and more digitally independent.
The testbed has also come to international attention. A delegation from Busan Technology Park in South Korea travelled to Liverpool to learn about the collaboration in the context of a similar project they have established. Their ‘smart home’ project seeks to help address demographic challenges in South Korea which will see over 40% of the country’s population aged 65 years old or over by 2050.
The group which included technology innovators was keen to understand how learning could be shared between the two projects and NCF were delighted to facilitate a visit for them to testbed members, Parkhaven Trust’s service, and for them to meet and speak with colleagues from Nazareth Care.
Shaping the future
Co-design and shared learning between care providers, technology suppliers, academics and people with lived experience is an intrinsic element of the testbed initiative. Throughout the project all parties have had opportunities to come together, share ideas and test new and emerging technologies coming through the University’s grant programmes.
Running alongside the testbed project is a range of digital opportunities for care and support providers including a suite of individualised training courses designed by NCF to help organisations build the digital confidence of their staff and tackle digital exclusion amongst the people who draw on their services. Leaders have found the Digital Leadership Programme essential because of its potential for confidence, knowledge and skills to be cascaded down through the organisation to frontline care professionals.
Other training has been tailored to the specific needs of each organisation and delivered in line with their ambitions. Bespoke training offers have included short coaching sessions on Co-Pilot and the efficiencies AI can bring, and attendees on the Introduction to Digital Transformation course have come away with an understanding on how to assess their organisation’s digital maturity, readiness and capacity for change.
As the project moves into its second year, participants have built the foundations of change and are able to begin shaping the digital future of their organisations with a clear eye on how this will improve the quality of care. To truly turn those plans into a reality, organisations need to embrace the insights of their frontline staff and the people who draw on their care and support services.
Forward thinking
The next phase of the testbed will focus on supportive and accessible engagement activities that will empower people with lived experience, their families and support networks and frontline staff to openly share their insights, priorities, hopes and fears around technology.
Topics that participants will work together to investigate include what makes technology feel supportive rather than intrusive, what gives families reassurance about safety, wellbeing and connection and what enables staff to spend more time with people, not screens.
Insights will be gathered in ways that are flexible and adaptable to different people’s communication preferences, working patterns, backgrounds and confidence levels so everyone has the chance to meaningfully contribute their thoughts and feelings and truly feel part of the testbed.
Making Space is a national charity and leading provider of health and social care services providing support to adults with an identified health or social care need, including people with complex mental health needs, learning disabilities, those living with dementia as well as older people and carers.
Making Space has been helping people with care and support needs, and their carers, to lead independent and fulfilling lives since 1982. It provides services to support people in their own home, in their local community and with specialist support services.
The organisation’s Regional Head of Operations, Rachel Horton, shared her insights on why being part of the testbed is so important to Making Space and what she hopes it will achieve for people who draw on services and frontline care workers in the Liverpool City Region:
‘Taking part in the Adult Social Care Testbed is a genuine privilege for Making Space. It is incredibly exciting to be involved in a project that is so forward-thinking and rooted in collaboration, innovation and real-world impact. Being part of this work places us at the forefront of exploring new approaches that have the potential to transform how care and support are delivered, and how positive outcomes are achieved for people and communities.
‘What makes the testbed especially meaningful is the opportunity it creates for the people we support. It provides a safe and collaborative space to trial new platforms, ideas and ways of working that can directly enhance quality of life, support greater independence and make a lasting difference to people’s everyday experiences.
‘We have already taken part in demonstrations where emerging platforms have been showcased, and these sessions have been both inspiring and highly practical. We are now actively exploring the opportunity to trial one of these solutions within our own services, which is an exciting next step for us.
‘The testbed also reflects our belief that technology in social care must be shaped with, not just for, the people who draw on services and the workforce who support them. By bringing together people with lived experience, frontline staff, providers, academics and technology partners, this project ensures that innovation is grounded in real needs, real challenges and real lives.
‘It has been a privilege to collaborate with the University of Liverpool, the National Care Forum and fellow providers across the Liverpool City Region. Working alongside such knowledgeable and committed partners strengthens shared learning and reinforces our collective commitment to improving care through thoughtful, inclusive and ethical use of technology. Together, this project represents a powerful opportunity to learn, grow and create meaningful, positive change for people now and in the future.’
For more information about the Adult Social Care Testbed for the Liverpool City Region, visit NCF’s website. Then, comment on this feature to share your thoughts.
Beccy Incledon-Blevin is Digital Care Development Lead at NCF. Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: @National-Care-Forum