Working on Workforce: An Immersive Career Development Award Journey with the Care Work Partnership
Dr Liz Wands-Murray
Research Associate
University of York
October 2026
As a relative newcomer to academia, bringing practice-based knowledge into my research has always been central to my work. My career began in learning disability and mental health services, followed by years supporting the transformation of adult social care through self-directed support before moving into service regulation.
In regulation I realised that evaluating a service based solely on a short snapshot was not always the best route to improvement. Often, services and staff were eager to improve, but lacked the guidance or tools to know where to begin. This knowledge led me to undertaking an NIHR funded PhD exploring the inclusivity and cultural competence of social care for older LGBTQ+ people. Subsequently I have worked on a range of NIHR funded projects focused on building research capacity in adult social care, values based recruitment, and attracting under-represented groups into the care workforce.
Narrowing the focus: Cultural Confidence in Homecare
At the start of 2026 I was awarded an NIHR Career Development Award (CDA). I have been using this opportunity to develop a fellowship application focused on how we can effectively train and support the care workforce to build cultural confidence, using scenario based dilemmas to instigate reflective conversations.
While the care workforce needs strengthening in terms of diversity, research shows that staff often lack the confidence to navigate complex conversations or to understand how identity might impact on the ways in which they can be best supported. Furthermore, I have seen first hand how challenging it can be, especially in homecare, to design practical, accessible training on topics that may not seem immediately pressing day-to-day. To tackle this, my award has included an immersive placement as part of the Care Work Partnership at King’s College, London.
Ground-Level Insights at Care Work
When putting my application together, I knew I wanted to immerse myself in a dedicated workforce research team. I wanted to see how workforce research operates from the ground up and better understand current sector priorities.
Professor Ann-Marie Towers and her team at King’s were generous enough to host me. During my time in the placement I have participated in project work, attended team planning meetings and engaged in discussions about upcoming research across the partnerships. This experience has been invaluable: it has offered a unique space to listen and learn from established experts while being able to contribute my own perspectives from practice.
Building Tools for Practice: The Knowledge Repository
One of my core contributions has been working on a new Knowledge Repository for all projects within the Partnership. Collaborating with Professor Towers, Dr Wenjing Zhang and interns Jacob and Jack, we have conceived, developed, and are now testing a user-friendly platform to share research findings and other useful resources with practitioners, stakeholders and researchers alike.
This collaborative effort has involved liaising with technical teams, a knowledge exchange specialist and project researchers to determine the most effective communication channels. It has sharpened my skills in research translation, considering and identifying the core messages and how to communicate those clearly, as well as how we can effectively highlight other resources available. Presenting our output to the wider Care Work team and redefining it based on their feedback will be a core milestone of the work.
Reflections as an Early Career Researcher
Being involved in this work, alongside team meetings and a grant-writing workshop, has been brilliant for my development. Although I am part of a large research group at the University of York, I am one of the few researchers focusing specifically on the care workforce. Immersing myself in a team dedicated entirely to care workforce issues has been both invigorating and enlightening.
My career journey has always been about establishing a research profile that bridges academic rigor with practical experience. This placement has helped me to realise the value of the practice-based perspectives I bring, boosting my confidence as an early career researcher and deepening my understanding of how research ideas develop from concept to dissemination in this sector.
Looking Ahead
My experience so far has been deeply inspiring and I am really excited for what the next 6 months will bring. As I continue developing my CDA work, I will carry these lessons forward, and hopefully continue to bring useful insights to the table in return.
A massive thank you to Professor Ann-Marie Towers, Dr Wenjing Zhang, Naomi, Krystal and the entire team for making me feel so welcome, sharing their expertise, and shaping my thinking. This placement has genuinely strengthened my approach to care workforce research and will be instrumental in ensuring my future work develops meaningful impact where it matters most.