The value proposition of emergent homecare models: Implications for care workforce

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About the seminar

In this seminar Dr Zimpel-Leal will report on the findings of her research examining the value proposition of emergent homecare models in England and the implications for the care workforce. Homecare providers for older people are facing a rise in demand for their services driven not only by an ageing population but also from a market demand for personalised care, choice, continuity of care, and real time availability.

Combined with turbulent political and policy environments, and the government’s need to maximise resource utilisation and contain costs, the current care landscape presented an opportunity for new homecare models.

Utilising the Business Model Canvas, this study investigated five case studies with homecare providers using semi-ethnographic methods. It found emergent models such as uberisation, community-based, live-in and preventative models are becoming more pervasive in the current landscape; with major shifts related to value proposition, partnerships, workforce and customer segments. Changes are promoting more flexibility and responsiveness in the care market, and encouraging workforce development.

About the speaker

Dr Karla Zimpel-Leal is a social scientist with research and teaching emphasis on innovation and enterprise. Her research is inspired by real world challenges that can inform both academia and industry. The latest research is aligned to the UK’s Industrial Strategy grand challenge of an Ageing Society, looking at emergent business models in the homecare sector. Karla works closely with homecare organisations, policy makers and regulators, developing a sustained engagement with these stakeholders and the wider care landscape in the UK.

Karla’s previous research encompasses innovation management and knowledge transfer, particularly focusing on understanding the generative mechanisms that are driving knowledge exchange between science and industry in the food sector, and addressing this sector’s challenges such as healthy ageing, nutrition and food security whilst reducing waste and environmental impact.

Before re-joining academia and with an entrepreneurial spirit, Karla spent many years paving her own road through founding a bespoke gifting retail business in London and co-founding a beekeeping business in Norwich, as well as being a consultant in Supply Chain Management and Procurement for organisations such as the Office of Communications (OFCOM), Ealing Council and Lotus Cars.

Karla’s academic degrees comprise a BBA (Hons) in Business and International Trade from Unisinos, Brazil, an MSc (distinction) in Supply Chain Management and a PhD in Scientific Knowledge Transfer, both from Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, UK.