Published 23 April 2026
Written in partnership with Five on a Bike
The Care Innovation Summit is a leading care home summit and national care conference focused on social care innovation. At the 2025 event, the Care Innovators Studio welcomed Tom Ling, Head of Evaluation at RAND Europe, to share his perspective on the complexities of innovation in adult social care. Tom explains that this area is rarely straightforward and argues that leaders need to rethink how they approach it, especially when exploring care home innovation ideas.
Instead of trying to find solutions that fit all, Tom defines social care as a system shaped by complexity, variation, constant change, and adaptation. For leaders in care, these realities have important implications for how they evaluate and scale innovation.
How to Evaluate Innovation in Social Care
In the discussion, Tom highlighted a key theme, leaders often struggle to evaluate whether innovation really “works”. Drawing from his personal research into body-worn cameras for ambulance staff, Tom highlights an important but frustrating reality that outcomes often “depend”.
While organisations aim to use body camera technology to reduce violence against staff, results vary depending on the context. Several factors influence success, including:
• The quality of staff training
• The level of senior leadership support
• Integration with the criminal justice system
• Organisational culture and day-to-day practices
Understanding the ‘Rugged Landscape’ of Social Care
Tom describes adult social care as a “rugged landscape,” which contrasts with industries where organisations can replicate innovation easily. This is a defining feature of social care innovation.
In a “smooth landscape,” organisations can distribute successful models of innovation widely and achieve stable, predictable results. However, in social care, local factors change everything. Differences in workforce, population, funding, and capability mean that what works in one area often cannot work in another without change.
For leaders, this means:
• They should not assume replication will deliver the same outcomes
• They must build adaptation into any strategy
• They should let local context shape implementation
Understanding this mindset helps leaders avoid wasted investment and ensure meaningful improvement.
Why Bottom-Up Approaches Drive Social Care Innovation
In the discussion, Tom also emphasised the importance of bottom-up innovation. Frontline staff, service users, and managers often understand what works best in practice. This understanding allows them to test, refine, and share ideas that support a more effective system.
To support this, leaders need to:
• Create space for local experimentation
• Encourage knowledge-sharing across teams and organisations
• Give staff the authority to adapt services
National systems still play a crucial role. Policymakers and regulators must enable flexibility instead of restricting it. Some of the most effective innovation systems combine local creativity with supportive frameworks.
Technology, AI and Smarter Resource Use
Technology continues to play an important and growing role in social care innovation. Tom makes it clear that organisations should use technology to enable and not replace the workforce.
Examples discussed include:
• AI-powered training that supports staff development
• Remote monitoring that helps teams identify changes in service users’ needs
• Data-driven scheduling that helps providers prioritise care delivery more effectively
Tom explains how these approaches allow providers to use limited resources more effectively.
For leaders implementing care home innovation ideas, the opportunity is to:
• Enhance workforce capability through technology
• Deliver more personalised and responsive care
• Improve operational efficiency without compromising quality
Leaders must keep privacy and consent central to all technology strategies.
What the UK can Learn from European Social Care Innovation Models
Tom highlights how European systems support innovation. Specifically, how Nordic countries prioritise patient centred care and regionalised commissioning structures.
These approaches create environments where innovation can emerge and scale effectively.
In contrast, countries like Italy show how national leadership can drive progress through clear priorities and legislative support.
For leaders in the UK, the goal is not to copy models directly but to understand how to balance national direction with local autonomy.
The Power of Frugal Innovation
One of the most pressing insights Tom discussed was the importance of frugal innovation. Frugal innovations deliver low-cost, high-impact improvements.
In a sector with financial constraints, leaders do not need major investment to innovate. Simple changes can drive meaningful benefits, such as:
Adjusting care home environments to improve accessibility
Using AI to help with training
Creating environments based on mutual support
These examples show that innovation often comes from attention to detail rather than large-scale transformation.
For leaders, this creates an immediate opportunity to improve without additional funding.
Incremental Change Over System Overhaul
Tom challenges the idea that large-scale transformation will solve sector challenges.
Instead, he emphasises the value of incremental improvement, where leaders focus on making existing systems work better over time.
This approach involves:
• Continuously refining services
• Improving commissioning practices
• Maintaining a long-term focus on sustainable improvement
Leaders will likely achieve more progress through small, consistent changes than through large overhauls
Building a Culture of Experimentation in Social Care
Finally, the interview discusses an experimental approach to innovation in social care. Organisations must create environments where teams can test ideas safely while monitoring and evaluating outcomes.
They can support this by:
• Introducing pilot programmes with evaluation frameworks
• Allowing temporary approval for new approaches
• Encouraging teams to learn from both success and failure
The Future of Social Care Innovation
Innovation thrives in organisations that adapt, stay open, and commit to learning.
In the “rugged landscape” of social care, leaders achieve success by empowering people, embracing complexity, and focusing on incremental change. By doing so, they can drive social care and care home innovation that is both impactful and sustainable.
