Adult Social Services

What Adult Social Services does

NW ADASS is the North West regional branch of the national Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, a non-profit membership organisation representing the 23 Directors of Adult Social Services (DASS) across the North West of England's upper-tier local authorities. Founded around 2018 and hosted by Wigan Council at Wigan Town Hall, it operates as the convening forum for sector-led improvement, cross-authority collaboration, and collective advocacy on adult social care policy across three Integrated Care Systems: Cheshire & Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire & Cumbria. Its deliverables are strategic frameworks, toolkits, training programmes, and collaborative programmes rather than commercial technology products; these include the Care 2030 ten-year strategy, the Sector Led Improvement programme, the Blended Roles Blueprint, the Career Academy Toolkit, the BAME Risk Toolkit, hospital discharge guidance, the Covid Lessons Learned Review, podcasts, and approximately ten annual NW Collaborative Masterclasses.

Its underlying technology footprint is modest: the organisation does not develop commercial software and has no proprietary technology products. Its principal technology initiative is a June–October 2024 AI project commissioned with consultancy Transmute Worldwide Ltd, which produced an AI maturity matrix, risk register, solutions database, case studies, and a Good Practice Guide hosted on the Notion platform to help the 23 member councils adopt AI. It has additionally used generative AI to analyse interview transcripts and produce a 'Virtual DASS' avatar video presented at the 2024 Annual Conference, indicating downstream consumption of third-party AI services rather than in-house model development.

Its business model is a non-profit subscription/membership model funded by contributions from the 23 member local authorities, supplemented by partnership support from national bodies including NHS England, the Local Government Association, Skills for Care, and Health Education England. Go-to-market is community-led and relationship-driven through co-chairs (currently Stuart Cowley and Sarah Smith) and a small Programme Office of six named staff led by Director Vince Fraga; pricing is not commercial and there is no equity, parent company, or external investment. Total headcount is 49, the majority of whom are seconded from member councils rather than employed by NW ADASS directly.

Name

Adult Social Services

Legal name

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services North West Branch

Website

https://nwadass.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NW ADASS is a non-profit regional membership organisation representing the 23 Directors of Adult Social Services across North West England's local authorities, delivering the Care 2030 strategy, sector-led improvement, workforce development, and AI adoption resources to member councils.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wigan

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: NW ADASS operates as a membership organization funded by the 23 Directors of Adult Social Services in North West local authorities. As the regional branch of the national ADASS association, membership is automatic for DASS directors in the region. Funding supports the Programme Office and regional collaborative initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NW ADASS is the regional membership organization for the 23 Directors of Adult Social Services (DASS) across North West England, operating as the North West branch of the national ADASS. It delivers strategic frameworks (Care 2030), sector-led improvement programmes, workforce development resources (Blended Roles Blueprint, Career Academy Toolkit, BAME Risk Toolkit), AI adoption guidance, collaborative masterclasses, and coaching programmes to support local authorities in improving adult social care.

Product overview

NW ADASS (North West Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) is a membership organization representing 23 Directors of Adult Social Services across the North West of England. Rather than a technology product company, it provides strategic frameworks, toolkits, training programs, and collaborative initiatives to improve adult social care services. The organization operates several interconnected programs including the Care 2030 Strategy (a ten-year vision), the Sector Led Improvement (SLI) Programme for quality assurance, the Blended Roles Blueprint for workforce integration, the AI and Adult Social Care Project for digital transformation, the NW Coaching Collaborative for leadership development, and the NW Collaborative Masterclasses for training. Additional resources include the Career Academy Toolkit, BAME Risk Toolkit, Workforce Mental Health & Wellbeing Resources, Social Supervision Toolkit, Hospital Discharge Resources, podcasts, and the Delivering Great Social Care vision document. The organization also partners on an NW Coaching Collaborative with NHS North West Leadership Academy and NW Employers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Care 2030 Strategy A ten-year regional strategic framework for adult social care in the North West, organised around four priorities: Future Models (care and support helping people live at home), Future Markets (ethical, quality care organisations), Future Workforce (skilled care staff), and Sector Led Improvement.
• Sector Led Improvement (SLI) Programme Regional quality improvement programme that takes collective responsibility for adult social care sector performance, defining good practice, providing support and challenge, and delivering assurance to regional and national government for the 23 member local authorities.
• Blended Roles Blueprint Workforce integration framework and methodology exploring blended roles in homecare (Tameside model), where social care staff take on low-level healthcare tasks such as insulin administration, wound care, and pressure area assessments.
• AI and Adult Social Care Project Project commissioned between June and October 2024 to equip councils with practical resources for AI adoption, including an AI maturity matrix, risk register, AI solutions database, vendor questions, case studies, and a Good Practice Guide.
• NW Coaching Collaborative Regional coaching partnership with NHS North West Leadership Academy and NW Employers providing an online Coaching & Mentoring Hub to make coaching accessible across the North West public sector.
• NW ADASS Podcasts Podcast series exploring prevalent issues across health and social care, including hospital discharge practices, meetings with NW ADASS Chairs, and workforce topics.
• Career Academy Toolkit Guide to support areas developing their own Care and Health Career Academy in partnership with educational institutions and providers, addressing adult social care workforce recruitment and development challenges.
• BAME Risk Toolkit Practical toolkit for managers to risk assess staff from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds during COVID-19, including guidance on mitigations and case studies for the North West adult social care workforce (approximately 16,000 BAME staff, around 9% of the regional total).
• Workforce Mental Health & Wellbeing Resources Toolkits and directories for adult social care employers, managers, and unpaid carers to support mental health and wellbeing, available as PDF and Word document resources.
• NW Collaborative Masterclasses Virtual masterclasses on key health and social care topics delivered by a cross-sector partnership including NHS, health and social care, and local government organisations, with approximately 10 sessions per year.
• Social Supervision Toolkit Organisational guide for social supervision practices in adult social care settings, supporting managers and supervisors in member local authorities.
• Hospital Discharge Resources Comprehensive resources examining the social worker's role in hospital discharge, including podcasts, case studies, and guidance on discharge-to-assess models.
• Delivering Great Social Care in the North West Shared vision report for adult social care produced by NW ADASS and NW Employers, emphasising coproduction, community involvement, workforce support, and innovative care models including ethical home care and technology-driven support.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered project-specific, core, supporting and regional.

• Transmute Worldwide Ltdproject-specificImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2024Consultancy commissioned to conduct the NW ADASS AI project from June to October 2024, exploring how AI can enhance Adult Social Care in the North West.
• Local Government Association (LGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational body representing local authorities; works with ADASS nationally on policy, guidance and advice to support local councils.
• NHS EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational health service body; partnership for integrated health and social care delivery across the North West.
• Health Education England (HEE) / NHS England NWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational body for healthcare education and training; partnered on workforce development including Blended Roles project and student placement initiatives.
• Skills for CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational workforce charity for adult social care; partnered on workforce recruitment, retention, and development initiatives.
• Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership promoting personalisation and community-based approaches in social care.
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational body providing research, guidance and training for social care improvement.
• Social Care FuturesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMovement advocating for transformation in adult social care based on people's lived experience.
• NHS Digital Social CaresupportingTechnology or IntegrationNational digital transformation support for adult social care; partnered on AI project and digital guidance.
• NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational institute providing evidence-based guidance for health and social care.
• ADASS (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) - NationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational body representing all regional ADASS branches; NW ADASS is one of nine regional branches.
• Lancashire & South Cumbria ICBregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntegrated Care Board covering Lancashire and South Cumbria region.
• Cheshire & Merseyside PartnershipregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership covering the Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care System.
• Greater Manchester Health and Social Care PartnershipregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership covering the Greater Manchester Integrated Care System.
• NW EmployerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional employers organization; partnered on workforce development, coaching collaborative, and producing the 'Great Social Care in the North West' report.
• NW Coaching Collaborative (NHS NW Leadership Academy + NW Employers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership bringing together NHS NW Leadership Academy, NW ADASS, and NW Employers to make coaching accessible to everyone working across the North West public sector.
• NW Collaborative (MIAA, NHS NW Leadership Academy, AQuA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInfluential cross-sector partnership delivering approximately 10 virtual masterclasses per year on key health and social care topics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Care England: The representative body for independent adult social care providers in England. Sits on the same policy and improvement forums as NW ADASS, and the two are natural counterparts on the commissioning/provider side of the adult social care system in the North West.
• West Midlands ADASS: Sister regional ADASS branch covering West Midlands local authorities. Same DASS constituency, regional convening function, and SLI methodology — geographically adjacent to NW ADASS and often co-delivers national ADASS work.
• Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) - National: The national umbrella body of which NW ADASS is the North West regional branch. Operates the same membership model for all DASS across England, delivers national policy, guidance and Sector Led Improvement support, and convenes the regional branches — directly comparable in structure, mission, and constituency.
• Yorkshire & Humber ADASS: A sister regional ADASS branch covering Yorkshire & Humber, with the same membership model, regional programmes, and Sector Led Improvement remit. Directly comparable in scale, governance (co-chair model), and the way it serves upper-tier local authority DASS within its region.
• London ADASS: Sister regional ADASS branch for London boroughs. Same constituency, same membership structure, same SLI and workforce agenda — operates at a larger scale and in a more complex devolved health landscape, but directly comparable in function.
• South East ADASS: Sister regional ADASS branch for the South East region. Same membership model and regional sector-led improvement remit across upper-tier local authorities, comparable in structure and operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Local Government Association (LGA): The national body representing all English local authorities. A core strategic partner of NW ADASS and works alongside ADASS nationally on policy, guidance, and sector improvement — broader in scope (all local government functions) but directly relevant to the DASS constituency.
• NHS Confederation: The membership body for NHS organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Comparable in membership-organisation model and convening role for the NHS side of the integrated care system that NW ADASS bridges into from the social care side.
• Skills for Care: The national workforce charity and workforce body for adult social care in England. A strategic partner of NW ADASS (per the data) and operates a broader national remit on workforce data, training, and recruitment — overlapping with NW ADASS's workforce development programmes but at national scale.

Emerging players

• Think Local Act Personal (TLAP): A national partnership hosted within the sector that promotes personalised, community-based approaches in social care. A named supporting partner of NW ADASS and operationally comparable as a national convening body for the social care reform agenda, though smaller and more issue-specific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NWADASS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adult-social-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Adult Social Services