2013 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", The Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. 16 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-02-2014-004

2013 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: The Journal of Adult Protection, Volume 16, Issue 1.

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for The Journal of Adult Protection

"The governance of adult safeguarding: findings from research"

Suzy Braye and David Orr
Professor of Social Work, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

Michael Preston-Shoot
Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from research into the governance of adult safeguarding policy and practice in England, with particular focus on interagency partnership arrangements expressed through Safeguarding Adults Boards.
Design/methodology/approach – The study comprised a systematic search and thematic analysis of English-language literature on adult safeguarding governance, a survey of Safeguarding Adults Board documentation, and key informant interviews and workshops with professionals involved in adult protection.
Findings – The effectiveness of adult safeguarding governance arrangements has not been subject to prior formal evaluation and thus the literature provided little research-led evidence of good practice. The survey and workshops, however, revealed a rich and complex pattern of arrangements spanning a number of dimensions – the goals and purpose of interagency working, the structures of boards, their membership, chairing and rules of engagement, their functions, and their accountabilities.
Research limitations/implications – The research focus here is England, and thus does not incorporate learning from other jurisdictions. Whilst the research scrutinises the extent to which Boards practise empowerment, service users, and carers are not directly involved in the fieldwork aspects of this study. In view of the absence of outcomes evidence identified, there remains a need to investigate the impacts of different forms of governance.
Practical implications – Drawing on this research and on governance frameworks in the context of related interagency fields, the paper identifies standards to benchmark the approach to governance taken by Safeguarding Adult Boards.
Originality/value – The benchmarking framework will enable Safeguarding Adults Boards to audit, evaluate, and further develop a range of robust governance arrangements.
Keywords Adult protection, Adults, England, Governance, Safeguarding Adults Boards

This article originally appeared in Volume 14 Number 2, 2012, The Journal of Adult Protection

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

"Involvement of service users in adult safeguarding"

Janet Wallcraft

This article originally appeared in Volume 14 Number 3, 2012, The Journal of Adult Protection

"The right to take risks"

Alison Faulkner

This article originally appeared in Volume 14 Number 6, 2012, The Journal of Adult Protection

"The use of the Mental Capacity Act among hospital patients: findings from a case study of one Acute Hospital Trust in England"

Lynne Phair and Jill Manthorpe

This article originally appeared in Volume 14 Number 6, 2012, The Journal of Adult Protection

Outstanding Reviewers

Lindsey Pike and Pete Morgan