Our work

 Queens Anniversary Prize

In 2005, our work contributed to Loughborough University being awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for evaluating and helping to develop social policy related programmes.

The prize honours outstanding achievement and excellence in UK universities and colleges, and was awarded for Social Policy related research conducted within Loughborough's Department of Social Sciences.


The award recognises the high quality research undertaken, with particular reference to three key areas of work: intellectual enquiry, the development of new methodologies, and the application of findings.

Innovative and policy relevant research

We aim to be at the leading edge of research in the construction of policy and delivery of services for vulnerable groups.

Our Costs and Outcomes research continues to help policy makers better understand the wide variations in unit costs between local authorities.

A major output from this work is the Cost Calculator for Children’s Services (CCfCS), designed to assist local authorities and other agencies to monitor the true costs of services to children and thus to improve strategic planning and commissioning.

Our work on Outcomes for Vulnerable Children continues to produce new and important findings about the process of decision-making in children’s services and its consequences.

As part of our Promoting the Well Being of Adults and the Community research, we undertook the Growing Together project: the first major study of the use of social and therapeutic horticulture and its benefits to vulnerable adults. Research is continuing in this area.
Click here to visit the Growing Together site

Work with vulnerable populations

The team are proficient in interviewing and interacting with vulnerable children and adults to the highest academic and ethical standards. Several projects involve interviews with families receiving support from social services and young people in care:

• Protecting and promoting the well being of very young children:
  a prospective study of babies in need or at significant risk of harm
  
  
• Looking after children: cohort studies
  
  
• Outcomes for looked after children: life pathways and decision-making for very young children in care or accommodation

These studies highlight the sensitive nature of our work in which researchers continue to display extreme professionalism and understanding, leading to findings that give a greater and more accurate insight into the lives of children, young people and families.

Team expertise

Professor Harriet Ward oversees a team of respected figures in social care research and it is their expertise and dedication that underpins the success of CCFR. The diversity of skills, knowledge and training of the team allows them to conduct a broad range of high quality cross-disciplinary research.

Visit the staff page for more information about the team

Maximum research impact

CCFR has an extensive research dissemination strategy and regularly produces books, journal articles and papers to ensure that research findings are accessible to policy makers and practitioners.

Our research team present at a number of conferences and seminars each year. Research findings and the successes of the team are widely shared and promoted through media coverage and event organisation.

For up to date news and information about events involving CCFR, please see News and Events