May 28th 2025
The Digital Care Hub congratulates the National Care Forum (NCF) and its partners on the exciting launch of the Adult Social Care Testbed in the Liverpool City Region – an ambitious new initiative to drive innovation in social care technology.
The project, led by the NCF in partnership with the University of Liverpool and supported by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, aims to develop innovative tech products and services, catalyse the use of social care data and upskill the care workforce in the Liverpool City Region.
The Adult Social Care Testbed brings together academic expertise, care providers, people with lived experience, and tech developers to co-create solutions that meet real needs on the ground. By creating a collaborative, inclusive environment for innovation, the Testbed will support a vibrant ecosystem of social care technology, with the potential to scale effective solutions across the region and beyond.
Michelle Corrigan, Director of the Digital Care Hub, said:
“Congratulations to the National Care Forum and its partners for launching such an inspiring initiative. The Adult Social Care Testbed shows how local collaboration can lead to national impact. It’s fantastic to see care providers, people with lived experience, and innovators working side-by-side to shape technology that genuinely meets the needs of social care. We look forward to seeing the learning and tools that emerge from this work.”
Vic Rayner, Chief Executive of the NCF, shared her enthusiasm on LinkedIn, highlighting the project as “a huge opportunity to explore what it means to build technology with people, not just for them.” She praised the collective ambition and commitment of partners across the Liverpool City Region, and stressed the importance of ensuring innovation is grounded in the lived experience of those who work in and use care services.
The Testbed will also create opportunities for local tech companies and researchers to collaborate with social care providers, helping to develop solutions that are grounded in practical reality and ready for implementation. This approach recognises that while there is no shortage of innovation in the digital sector, the best solutions in care come from understanding and responding to the complexity and humanity of care delivery.
The Digital Care Hub welcomes initiatives like this that aim to ensure social care is included in the development and testing of digital technology. Too often, tools are designed without understanding the context in which they’ll be used – which is why collaborative, place-based innovation like the Adult Social Care Testbed is so important.
We’ll be following the progress of the Testbed closely and look forward to sharing updates and learning as the project unfolds.
Find out more on the National Care Forum website
View all News