Study title

The EXploring Innovation in Transitions to adulthood (EXIT) study aims to improve understanding of the enablers, barriers and the factors that are important for implementing, sustaining, scaling up and evaluating innovations for care leavers in the UK. Our goal is to build an evidence base of how ‘meaningful’ (evidence-based) innovation for care leavers can best be supported to scale up and become part of widespread practice; moving from what we know about what works, to what we do in practice. The four-year research project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and brings together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Warwick, the University of Bedfordshire, University of Birmingham, and Newcastle University. The objectives of the study are to: • Explore what innovations currently exist for young people leaving care; • Identify what helps or hinders how meaningful innovation is implemented, sustained and scaled up; • Explore how innovation is adapted as it moves from one site to another and with what effect; • Critically examine how the success of innovation is ‘measured’; • Discover how the wider spread of innovation that works can be better supported so innovation makes a difference to more care leavers. The EXIT research plan involves four work packages (WP) that aim to explore the contemporary innovation context, practices, projects and processes that support care leavers’ transitions to adulthood in the UK. WP1: We have conducted two literature reviews of the academic literature and grey literature which identified over 80 innovations, with some occurring at multiple sites and at national level. The focus of the innovations related to different areas of transition for care leavers including education, employment and training, housing and support for the development of relationships. WP2: We have conducted 30 interviews with key policy and practice stakeholders, to explore some of these innovations in detail...