Recruiting for Advisory Group Members at University of Manchester as Part of a Research Project in Adult Social Care

Shaping Our Lives is working with the University of Manchester and Manchester City Council on a research project called “Social Care Inequalities: Reablement Equity”. We are looking for five people to join our Advisory Group, who are aged over 18 and have lived experience of using adult social care services. You will meet together to talk about issues of trust and meaning in the use of adult social care data in research.

What is the project?

• We want to find and discuss inequalities in adult social care reablement services in Manchester.
• Reablement care is temporary and is usually provided at home, helping people to learn or re-learn everyday tasks, like cooking meals and washing.
• These services are important for helping people to get back their independence after leaving the hospital or when their support needs change.
• We will use information that is routinely collected and held in social care records to better understand how well reablement services are working.

Who can take part?

• You need to be 18+ years old and live in England.
• As far as you know, you are available for the duration of the study, which is July 2025 to April 2027.
• You can take part if you have lived experience of using adult social care services, either at the moment or at some point in your life. For example, this might include support such as help at home, attending a day centre, or receiving assistance from a social worker.
• Your experience of using adult social care services may have been short-term support or over a longer period.
• You do not need to be located in Manchester. There may be in-person project meetings taking place in Manchester, however there is no requirement for people to attend in person.

What will you do?

• You will be able to share your lived experience of using adult social care services with others.
• You will be able to share your thoughts and opinions on how information that is routinely collected by social care services is used in research.
• You will be involved throughout the project – for example, by looking at early findings and giving feedback on how we share our results.
• You will attend Advisory Group There will be up to 12 meetings over the project period, with some opportunities to meet in person, in Manchester.
• Most of the activities will be done remotely, so you need to be able to access Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or similar software.

How can you apply?

• You will need to fill out the Participant Details Form and return it to us as soon as possible. We will be reviewing applications as they come through.
• If you prefer to complete this form verbally, please get in touch with us and we will support you.
• We may also want to arrange a 15–30-minute call as part of recruitment after receiving your completed Form (we will decide on the date together).

• You can download the form here: Advisory Group Participant Details Form JUN2025
• You can access an Easy Read PDF version of the form here: Advisory Group – Participant Details Form (Easy Read PDF Version)
• You can also access an Easy Read PDF version of this recruitment call here: Advisory Group – Call for Participants (Easy Read PDF Version)

Deadline: We are reviewing applications as they come through. Please send us your completed application as soon as possible, no later than Friday 4th July 2025.