Social care in the UK touches over 10 million people, yet the engineering and physical sciences community has largely focused on health rather than the unique challenges of social care. TESCI aims to fix that mismatch. The problem is that social care—support for older adults, disabled people, children, informal carers, and the paid workforce—has distinct needs that health-focused technology research often overlooks. Robotics, AI, data systems, and remote monitoring could transform how care is delivered, but researchers and practitioners rarely collaborate on these specific challenges. If TESCI succeeds, it will create a network where people with lived experience, service providers, government, industry, and researchers co-develop practical solutions. This could mean exoskeletons that help carers physically assist individuals, AI that prompts someone to take medication, or scheduling systems that cut travel time between clients. Remote monitoring could give families reassurance while allowing independent living. The network will produce a research roadmap to guide future EPSRC funding priorities. The immediate output is not a product but a coordinated community and a shared understanding of where technology can make the biggest difference in social care.
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The Technology nEtwork for Social Care Innovation (TESCI) envisions a future where technology empowers individuals and their family’s. We aim to improve quality of life, ensuring dignity, inclusion, and independence in a secure and safe environment. Technology can transform social care services in the home, daycare and residential settings and improve the lives of the workforce, to build a more equal and sustainable social care system. Social care in the UK impacts over 10 million people, including older adults, adults with disabilities, mental health, children, informal carers and the paid workforce. TESCI will drive innovation in robotics, data science, and engineering, developing and applying these technologies to transform social care. For example, robotics can enable carers to physically help individuals through the use of exoskeletons. Robotic (e.g. robotic companion pets and humanoids) and digital assistants (e.g. Alexa and Google) can help reduce social isolation. AI can prompt individuals to complete daily tasks, such as preparing meals or taking medication. Data and planning systems can optimise schedules for care workers, minimising travel time between clients. Furthermore, remote monitoring systems can offer reassurance to those living independently and their families. The engineering and physical sciences community has the potential to play a transformative role in addressing challenges in social care. However, to date, research in the community has predominantly focused on health and not on social care which faces its own unique and diverse challenges. It is therefore crucial for TESCI to unite these communities, fostering a shared understanding of the opportunities technology offers to drive innovation in social care and to inspire the next generation of academics and practitioners. TESCI acknowledges the vast, diverse, and unique challenges faced by social care. A key objective of the network will be to build awareness within the engineering and physical sciences research community about the specific needs and opportunities within the social care sector. To achieve its goals, TESCI will create a vibrant ecosystem where stakeholders across the social care sector—including people with lived experience "Nothing About Us Without Us", service providers, government, and industry—join forces with researchers. Together, they will identify gaps and unmet needs and will co-create technological solutions that improve the lives of those receiving and delivering social care. People with lived experience are central to the TESCI network. Their insights and expertise will guide research priorities, ensuring the relevance and accessibility of proposed research. TESCI will facilitate multidisciplinary grant applications focused on enhancing social care through technology. We will encourage collaborative proposals addressing a wide range of needs, from AI solutions to tangible assistive devices. By actively exploring emerging trends and future challenges in social care, TESCI will ensure its efforts remain relevant and impactful, leading to the identification of new research opportunities. TESCI will develop a roadmap of research and innovation to inform the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for guidance of future funding priorities.
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