Social Care Digital Innovation Programme

The LGA in collaboration with NHS Digital grant funded digital innovation in social care. In 2019-21, 12 councils were selected for the third wave of funding, with six progressing to implementation. Find out more about the 49 projects funded across all four years.


We know digital technology can help people live healthy, independent lives and enable health and social care services to be more effective, personalised and efficient.

Innovation with NHS Digital

Through collaboration and funding from NHS Digital as part of their five-year Social Care Programme, we delivered funding and support to 49 projects involving 69 council teams across England to develop and share new digital approaches and technologies in adult social care.

The Social Care Digital Innovation Programme provided over £1m funding for local authorities to use technology to respond to adult social care challenges in their area and the Social Care Digital Innovation Accelerator Programme provided over £470,000 for co-funded and collaborative digital projects of common and shared interest.

Meeting social care needs

All projects aimed to meet the needs of people, care providers and professionals while working in partnership with technology suppliers. Though the Covid-19 pandemic brought many challenges, project teams adapted to the changing circumstances so that digital tools could continue to support people effectively.

Improved outcomes and financial benefits

Throughout the implementation phase, each council has evaluated the actual and forecasted cash, non-cash, and quality benefits of their digital solution. Several common benefits have been identified:

  • Increased service user and carer satisfaction
  • Increased independence for people
  • Reduced hospital admissions
  • Savings in the use of health and social care staff time and resources
  • More sustainable health and care system due to decreased service dependence
  • Reduced digital exclusion

Making a difference to social care

Digital services have been developed and implemented collaborating with service users, health care professionals, and local councils. These online services support people's care needs from initial assessment and care planning, to ongoing support.

These digital tools have given people more independence, made tasks for care professionals easier, and delivered long-term value for councils through cash savings and indirect non-cash benefits.

While many services have involved creating bespoke new apps and websites accessible via laptops or mobiles, in other cases making better use of existing technologies and rethinking how to use these better has delivered valuable benefits.

Case studies

Improving assessment for home adaptions using smartphones

Giving adults with learning disabilities more independence through online resources

Helping people with daily travel with digital maps

Preventing falls in the community with safe steps mobile app

Using data mapping to inform health care decisions

Taking the strain with cobots in care

Improving hydration for care home residents

Online care plans give people more control

Online self-service financial assessment for social care

Further information

If any of the projects could be of interest to your authority, please get in touch. For more information or if you have any queries please contact [email protected].