Topic
Date published
12/03/2025
Overview of LiLaC
The Living Labs for Care (LiLaC) is designed to support research and improvement projects within care homes and domiciliary care settings in the East Midlands. It aims to bridge the gap in social care research by creating hubs for collaboration and knowledge exchange. By supporting research, identifying learning needs and facilitating training for care practitioners, LiLaC seeks to empower staff and improve care quality for older adults.
Trip to the Netherlands
The LiLaC team recently travelled to the Netherlands to explore innovative approaches to social care research and practice, accompanied by representatives from Wren Hall and Landermeads nursing homes. This trip provided a valuable opportunity for eight team members, including two care home managers and four care staff, to engage with international peers and gain insights on implementing the Living Labs concept, which has been successfully used there for over 25 years.
The journey began at Leiden University (Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum), where the team was introduced to cutting-edge research methodologies. They then visited two care homes, Zuijdtwijck and Huis op de Waard, observing living lab best practices and engaging directly with local staff.
The trip culminated in Maastricht University, where the team visited Envida Care and interacted with key staff members. This experience provided deep insights into how university and care home staff had worked to integrate research into daily care practices.
Throughout the trip, the team found the experience to be both informative and inspiring. They appreciated the honesty with which their Dutch counterparts shared the time and effort required to establish research-based care.
A unique aspect of this trip was the inclusion of working care home staff, which fostered a genuine exchange of ideas and experiences.
Future Directions
The feedback gathered from this trip will be instrumental in shaping LiLaC's Living Labs model in the East Midlands over the next 18 months. The team will focus on enhancing engagement among care home staff and domiciliary care in research initiatives and skill development. The insights gained will serve as a guiding framework for this model, with initial efforts directed towards targeted projects and expanding engagement to include domiciliary care providers.
The experience has provided the team with ‘lots of food for thought’, and they are enthusiastic about implementing these learnings to elevate research activities within care homes.
Get involved
For more information about the LiLaC study, click here.
If you a care home or domiciliary care provider interested in LiLaC and opportunities for involvement, contact MS-LiLaC@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk.
