Demonstrating how to work with the care market to deliver technology enabled care: A Collaborative Partnership
Harnessing technology to enhance independence and quality of life for older adults receiving home care in Barking and Dagenham.
Together, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Rethink Partners, Alcove, and Care City are harnessing the potential of digital innovation to support 300 older adults receiving social care in Barking and Dagenham. Funded by the CARE Adult Social Care Technology Fund, this project brings together the expertise and resources of multiple organisations committed to transforming care through innovative digital solutions and is generating academic evidence of the impact of digital care technologies on the wellbeing and independence of local people.
A Shared Mission
Our shared mission is to improve independence and reduce hospital admissions by integrating transformative care technologies. By working collectively, with 8 CQC registered domiciliary care providers we’re enhancing care quality, boosting service efficiency, and empowering residents to live with greater confidence and well-being.
National Demonstrator Funding to develop a blueprint for roll-out
The funding for this demonstrator has enabled our partnership to dedicate time and resource to work forensically with each care agency. We have supported the care market to adopt care technology into their day-to-day delivery. By understanding their challenges and aspirations we are gaining insights to drive sustainable culture change.
We have already over-achieved our target of working with care providers to generate 300 referrals with older adults living in the community with multiple eligible needs, such as frailty, falls risk, cognitive impairment, and long-term health conditions. A full academic evaluation is ensuring that we can evidence and share the impact and learning from this programme.
The Partners
Adult Social Care Partner: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) is a vibrant and diverse community located in East London. With a commitment to improving the lives of its residents, LBBD is dedicated to implementing innovative solutions to address the needs of vulnerable adults and older people in the borough.
Domiciliary Care Partners: We are working with eight local domiciliary care providers and the residents they are supporting. The size of each care provider varies greatly, as does their operational approach. This has meant tailoring support to them in a highly personalised way to wrap around their working practices. This bespoke approach to working with our provider partners has generated lots of targeted learning.
Aspire, Bluebird, Caronne Care, Rosemont Care, Shreeji Care, Supreme Care Services, Star Care, Zenith Care
Technology Partner: Alcove is a pioneering provider of care technology solutions, dedicated to empowering individuals to live independently and safely in their own homes. With a focus on personalised care and innovative technology, Alcove’s platform integrates a range of best-in-class devices to support the unique needs of each individual. Contact Alcove
Culture Change Partner: Rethink Partners is a culture change consultancy specialising in technology adoption. They provide strategic support and hands-on implementation. They work across all the partners – and particularly with the domiciliary care providers to: to develop and skill-up people to become advocates and change agents; understand the barriers and opportunities for tech adoption; create a model that can be replicated elsewhere in the Borough and nationally; to maximise the chances of success and sustainability.
Evaluation Partner: Care City is a community-driven innovation, research, and evaluation organisation dedicated to improving health, care, and wellbeing. With a strong track record in delivering robust evaluations, it works across sectors to assess the impact of technologies, interventions, and services on health and care outcomes. By combining rigorous methodologies with lived experience insights, Care City generates actionable evidence that supports decision-making and empowers communities, providers, and policymakers to innovate and create meaningful change.
Driving Impact Together
Through close collaboration, we are evaluating and implementing digital care technologies to:
- Enhance Independence and quality of life: Offering personalised care technology solutions that meet individual needs.
- Empower Care Providers: Using technology to improve home care efficiency, enabling staff to focus on where their expertise is most needed. Advancing care delivery models; staff confidence and skills.
- Deliver Data-Driven Care: Leveraging richer datasets from care technology to enable early intervention, proactive care, and population health management.
- Highlight Financial Benefits: Demonstrating how care technology can reduce system costs by helping people stay independent longer; reduced demand for care and more effective reablement periods
- Demonstrating Cost-Effectiveness: Proving how technology reduces system strain by helping people live independently longer.
A Shared Commitment to Putting People First
This partnership prioritises residents’ lived experiences, ensuring technology complements care while respecting individual needs. With a strong foundation in co-design and community engagement, we aim to create solutions that truly benefit the people of Barking and Dagenham.
Follow the Journey
We are sharing updates, stories, and insights along the way. Follow our progress on our websites and social channels or contact the partners above.
