Welcome to the IMPACT Director’s Update bulletin. Jon Glasby has been the Director of IMPACT since 2021, when the centre officially launched – he is a qualified social worker and Professor of Health and Social Care. This monthly update will allow Jon, and colleagues across IMPACT, to share key highlights, milestones, and learning.
With August marking the end of IMPACT’s annual work cycle for 2025-26, September sees the start of 24 new projects, partners, topics and opportunities in new areas of the UK for 2026-27. Jon reflected on the achievements of the past year’s work, shared exciting new announcements and highlighted growing international recognition for IMPACT’s work.
New projects, partnerships and possibilities
IMPACT works on an annual cycle from September one year to the end of August the next.
This means that the 22 Demonstrators, Facilitators and Networks which we ran in 2025-26 are coming to an end. Then this month, another 24 new projects start – with new partners, on new topics, in new areas of the country.
In practical terms, this means that the next few months will see a series of new reports, practice materials, films and other outputs, on almost every social care topic you can think of. Please make sure you’re signed up to our free monthly e-update so that any new resources are sent to you directly.
It also means that there’ll be a flurry of announcements as new projects and colleagues get up and running. Whether it’s involving people with learning disabilities in debates about climate change, promoting race equality in the workforce, or improving support for people with substance dependence in care homes, our staff will be working in front-line settings across the UK, from Armagh to Swansea, and from Shropshire to Aberdeen.
By the end of our first phase in December 2027, it’s likely that we’ll have run over 200 practical improvement projects – roughly equivalent to one for every Council and integrated Health and Social Care Trust in all four nations of the UK.
Although everything we do is rooted in the reality of people’s lives, local communities and local services, the difference these projects make is increasingly recognised internationally. In 2025, the article which describes how we designed IMPACT and the work that we do was one of the top five most downloaded by the International Journal of Care and Caring, giving a flavour of how learning from IMPACT has struck a chord well beyond the individual activities we undertake.
Sharing our learning – European Social Services Awards 2026
We’ve also been shortlisted for the European Social Services Awards, with members of staff and a member of our IMPACT Co-production Advisory Group travelling to Rome this November to celebrate and share our work with partners from across the continent.
However, none of this should distract from the task that remains. We believe that “good care isn’t just about ‘services’, but about having a life” – and that lived evidence (including research, lived experience and practice knowledge) can make a difference. Everything else is just about finding ways to work together to help this become more of a reality for more people.