Exploring the Relationships Between Evidence and Innovation in the Context of Scotland’s Social Services

This report uses theoretical, empirical and practice literatures and case studies to reflect on the links between evidence and innovation in the context of Scotland’s social services. It bridges two of the core work streams at The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS); evidence-­‐informed practice and innovation and improvement. The first section of this report provides the necessary context, with a consideration of the challenges facing Scotland’s social services, and the reform agendas that have been ventured in response to these. The second and third sections deal separately with evidence and innovation, providing an overview of the core debates surrounding their definition and conceptualisation. Section four reflects on the different relationships between evidence and innovation, and the implications of these for practice. This is done through the theoretical and empirical literature in the first instance, and is follow by a detailed exploration of two practice case studies.