January 7th 2026
New year – new offer from Digital Care Hub!
This January, we are launching a new series – Digital Care in Focus – to provide insights on digital technology and data in adult social care.
Each month, we will explore a key topic across our website, social media, newsletters, webinars and case studies. We will look at what the topic really means in practice, what evidence and experience tell us, what is emerging in policy and funding, and who can do what to support real improvement. The aim is to support learning, confidence and better decision-making across the sector.
As Michelle Corrigan, Chief Executive of the Digital Care Hub, explains:
“We want to demystify tech and data, and help our stakeholders to keep up with the big issues. We know everyone is time poor, so we will collect and translate emerging evidence and practical ways forward on topics such as interoperability. And we want to encourage curiosity and openness. No one has all the answers – but everyone has a valuable perspective on how tech and data can and should develop in our sector. So we are excited to introduce our new Digital care in focus workstream.”
We are kicking off the series with innovation in digital technology and data.
What do we mean by innovation?
In adult social care, innovation is often confused with simply using digital tools well. But innovation is not the same as business as usual.
For us, innovation in digital technology and data is about deliberately trying new or different ways of using technology or information to improve outcomes, particularly where existing approaches are no longer enough. It involves testing ideas, learning from experience and being willing to take proportionate, informed risks.
Innovation is not a straight line. Not every idea will succeed, and learning from what does not work is part of the process. At the same time, innovation in social care must operate within legal, regulatory and ethical boundaries, particularly around data protection, information governance and cyber security. Safe innovation is not about avoiding rules, but understanding them well enough to innovate with confidence.
Importantly, innovation can be care-led, tech-led, or co-produced. Sometimes new ideas come directly from care practice, frontline experience or lived experience. At other times, technology suppliers and developers bring forward new approaches that open up possibilities the sector has not yet considered. Both are essential.
A good example of care-led innovation developed with a tech supplier is IMPAQT for Care. The original concept was developed by care home leaders and Bradford Care Association, in response to the very practical challenge of managing and evidencing Care Quality Commission compliance. That idea was then created and built by a technology supplier, combining care insight with technical expertise. What makes this innovative is not just the tool itself, but the way care experience shaped the solution from the outset, resulting in something that addressed a real need in a proportionate and usable way. (Read the full case study).
For adult social care to benefit from innovation in the long term, it is also vital that care technology suppliers see social care as a sector worth investing in and designing for. Future developers need to understand the realities, constraints and opportunities of care, and that only happens through meaningful collaboration.
Why innovation matters now
There are strong policy, practice and financial drivers pushing adult social care to think differently about how digital technology and data are used. Services are under sustained pressure, workforces are stretched, and expectations around quality, safety and accountability continue to grow.
Innovation matters because it can help services respond to these pressures more effectively. Used well, technology and data can support better-informed decisions about care, strengthen oversight and safety, and help services become more resilient and fit for the future.
Being realistic about risk and change
It is also important to be honest. Many digital pilots do not progress beyond early testing, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence. Research suggests that around 88% of AI proof-of-concept projects fail to reach full production, and only a small minority deliver measurable value beyond the pilot stage.
This does not mean innovation is a bad idea. It does mean that success depends on much more than the technology itself. Cultural change, skills, leadership and time to embed new ways of working all matter.
Doing nothing also carries risks, especially in a system under strain. The challenge is to take safe, thoughtful risks, supported by evidence, partnership and shared learning.
What next
Over the rest of this month, we will explore innovation from different perspectives, including leadership, commissioning, policy and regulation. Innovation is not something care providers or technology suppliers should have to carry alone.
We will look at what helps and what gets in the way, what opportunities are emerging through policy and funding, and how different parts of the system can better support responsible, collaborative innovation.
Get involved
What’s your experience of digital innovation?
What’s your key lesson – from a success or ‘a failure’?
Join the discussion on social media – #DigitalCareInFocus #DigitalCareInnovation
Register for our webinar:
Care-led innovation: Celebrating home-grown technology in social care – 28 January 2026, 1 – 2.30pm
Join fellow care providers who have taken digital innovation a step further. When suitable off-the-shelf solutions didn’t exist, they designed and developed their own tools and systems. In this webinar, they’ll share their journeys – from the challenges and barriers they faced, to the solutions they created, the outcomes achieved, and their top tips to other care providers.
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