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CASCID 2

Social care data in the UK is fragmented across many different sources, making it difficult for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to locate relevant measures quickly.

CASCID‑2 builds on the Catalogue of Social Care Individualised Data (CASCID), a free online resource launched in 2022 to make social care measures more findable by collating what is collected, where, and how.

The Catalogue provides links to the organisations that hold data but does not host raw data.

Early usage data and user feedback show the Catalogue is being used (particularly in academia, government and consultancy) and is valued for bringing information into one place, but that there are also navigation and search issues and clear demand for broader coverage (including datasets relevant to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). Because collecting new primary data is costly, improving discoverability and usability of existing datasets can strengthen the social care evidence base and help people answer policy and practice questions more efficiently.

Social care data exists in many places, but it’s often hard to find. CASCID-2 brings that information together and makes it easier to search—so researchers, practitioners and policymakers can use existing evidence more quickly, spot gaps, and strengthen what we know about social care across the whole UK.

Edmund Stubbs, Principal Investigator

Aims

CASCID‑2 aims to:

  • expand UK-wide coverage by adding datasets from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and searching for missed English datasets
  • update existing dataset entries to include the latest sweeps/measures
  • improve website usability through technical enhancements informed by user research
  • increase awareness and use of the Catalogue among researchers, practitioners and policymakers
  • strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) usefulness by identifying and improving visibility of measures relevant to under‑represented groups (e.g., ethnicity, age, religion, LGBTQ+ status, disability, asylum‑seeker/refugee status).

Methods

The project combines data curation, user-centred website development, and dissemination.

First, the team will identify and catalogue additional datasets, prioritising Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with support from country-specific experts and will also search for missed English and smaller local datasets (including where study documentation is publicly available, such as via the UK Data Archive).

Second, CASCID-2 will update information on datasets already in the Catalogue by checking documentation and liaising with dataset teams to ensure the latest sweeps/measures are reflected.

Third, the website will be improved in collaboration with web developer, Ben Sclaepfer, including planned additions such as a prominent keyword search bar, clearer guidance on how to cite CASCID (to help track impact), and functionality that supports replicable searches (e.g., saving search syntax), plus further changes identified through user research.

User research (informed by ARC accelerator learning) will likely include interviews, observation-based task testing, and A/B comparisons of site changes, involving users such as researchers, practitioners, data providers and public contributors. This has already led us to create geographical/location searches for our datasets.

Finally, CASCID-2 will strengthen public and stakeholder involvement and dissemination. The project has established a public advisory group (including people with experience of using social care services and unpaid carers) and a stakeholder group including practitioners, academics and data managers, with attention to representation of under-served groups.

Project Findings

Findings and outputs will be added to the Catalogue website as they become available, including commentaries/discussion papers on data gaps and under-represented groups, and learning about the feasibility of combining/aligning measures across datasets to support research with small-sample populations.

Project Resources

Outputs and resources will be published online on the Catalogue website. Planned resources include additional user-guide videos (building on existing guides), expert “talking heads” videos about using CASCID and blog posts.

Project Impact

CASCID‑2 is designed to increase the use of existing social care data by making it easier to discover relevant datasets and measures, helping stakeholders identify evidence gaps, and supporting better harmonisation/consistency of measures across UK social care research. By expanding coverage across devolved nations and improving visibility of measures relevant to under‑represented groups, the project supports more inclusive research and improved understanding of inequalities. Increased awareness and usability should also help policymakers and practitioners use evidence more effectively for service planning and decision-making.

Further project information

Principal Investigator: Edmund Stubbs (CPEC, LSE)

CPEC Research Team: Edmund Stubbs; Derek King; Raphael Wittenberg; Martin Knapp (Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE). Support also includes CPEC communications capacity as part of the project’s dissemination work.

Collaborators: Web developer Ben Sclaepfer; country-specific experts for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; external videographers; SSCR communications team. The project also includes a public advisory group (people with lived experience of social care and unpaid carers) and a professional stakeholder group (practitioners, academics and data managers).

Region: UK-wide (including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)

Keywords: Adult social care; social care datasets; data discoverability; data catalogue; equity diversity and inclusion (EDI); UK devolved nations