Strengthening adult social care provider markets
Helping local authorities and care providers build stronger provider markets through research, market intelligence, provider development and commissioning readiness.
Who are you?
Odelia Group works with care providers and local authorities to strengthen provider markets. Tell us who you are and we will show you where to start.
I am a Care Provider
Stronger commissioning readiness starts with a clear picture of where your organisation stands. Council Ready™ helps CQC-registered providers understand and strengthen the organisational foundations commissioners may look for before opportunities arise.
I work with Local Authorities
Evidence-led intelligence to support commissioning decisions. Access to our published council reports, provider market intelligence and research programme — helping you strengthen your provider market.
Adult social care faces increasing pressure
Over 418,000 people in England are waiting for care to begin. Demand continues to rise — driven by an ageing population, growing complexity of need and increasing pressure on hospital discharge pathways.Source: NHS England, Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, 2025
Meanwhile, local authorities face persistent workforce shortages, constrained budgets and provider markets that struggle to keep pace with changing commissioning requirements. Capable providers exist — but they are not always visible, assessed or connected to the opportunities where their capacity is needed most.Sources: Skills for Care, The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2025; Odelia Group cross-authority MPS analysis, 2025–2026
This is not a supply problem. It is a visibility, readiness and alignment problem — and it recurs across regions, service types and provider categories.Source: Odelia Group analysis of 30+ local authority Market Position Statements, 2025–2026
418,000+
People waiting for care to begin in England
NHS England, 2025
30+
Local authority Market Position Statements reviewed
What is an MPS?
Systemic
Pattern of capable providers unable to access commissioning opportunities
How we identified this
Strong provider markets are essential to better outcomes
Odelia Group exists to strengthen the adult social care provider market — the network of organisations that deliver care and support to people in their homes, in residential settings and in their communities.
We believe that when provider markets function well, commissioners can make informed decisions, providers can demonstrate genuine capability and the people who need support receive it — reliably, consistently and at the right time.
Every piece of research we publish, every provider we assess and every insight we share serves one purpose: strengthening the provider market so it can meet the demands placed upon it.
We are not a care provider, recruitment agency or generic consultancy. We are a specialist organisation dedicated to provider market development — grounded in research, delivered with rigour.
Odelia Group strengthens provider markets through four interconnected capabilities
For care providers, Council Ready™ is our product suite — developed under and delivered in line with the PDA for Social Care™ methodology. Research grounds everything we do.
Council Ready™
Our provider development product suite, delivered under the PDA for Social Care™ methodology. Free readiness tools, comprehensive assessments and tailored improvement support to strengthen organisational foundations.
Commissioning Readiness
A research-backed framework for assessing and evidencing provider capability against the standards local authorities apply during procurement and framework evaluation.
Market Intelligence
Research-led analysis of local care markets. Systematic MPS review, commissioning strategy analysis and provider landscape mapping to identify gaps and opportunities.
Provider Market Development
Working with local authorities and providers to strengthen the overall provider market — improving visibility, alignment and sustainability at a systemic level.
Research that informs commissioning decisions
Evidence-led research on local authority provider markets, commissioning priorities, workforce pressures and market development. Each report draws on systematic MPS review and direct sector engagement.
9 reports available
Kent Adult Social Care Market Intelligence
Publication 002 — From Capacity to Resilience. Kent's Adult Social Care service was rated Requires Improvement by CQC. Analysis of the county's £87m homecare market, All Age Homecare recommissioning and Prevention Framework 2025–2035.
Medway Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 003 — From Capacity to Resilience. Focused intelligence for a compact unitary authority — provider distribution, commissioning priorities and capacity gaps identified through systematic MPS review.
Bexley Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 004 — From Commissioning to Collaboration. Analysis of Bexley's shift towards personalisation — increasing personal budgets, direct payments and Individual Service Funds.
Havering Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 005 — From Capacity to Assurance. Analysis of Havering's CQC Requires Improvement context — provider assurance, safeguarding oversight and transitions into adulthood.
Bromley Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 006 — From Access to Timely Support. Analysis of Bromley's CQC Requires Improvement context — timely provider readiness, fast mobilisation and reablement outcomes.
Commissioning Priorities Across England
Cross-authority analysis identifying common commissioning patterns, shared workforce pressures and recurring market gaps drawn from 30+ Market Position Statements.
Commissioning Readiness: A Structured Guide
An evidence-based framework for providers. What commissioners evaluate, how to prepare, and the evidence portfolio that demonstrates genuine capability.
Adult Social Care Market Trends 2026
Synthesis of emerging trends — workforce sustainability, commissioning reform, demographic shifts and the evolving role of the independent sector.
Provider Market Development: Four-Category Analysis
Structured analysis of provider development needs across domiciliary care, residential care, supported living and complex care.
New intelligence briefings published quarterly.
View all researchCouncil-level intelligence for commissioning decisions
Evidence-led research covering adult social care markets for individual local authorities. Each report provides structured analysis across eleven dimensions — from commissioning priorities and provider landscapes to workforce pressures and strategic insights.
Kent County Council
Adult Social Care Market Intelligence
Publication 002 — From Capacity to Resilience. Analysis of Kent's £87m adult homecare market, All Age Homecare recommissioning and Prevention Framework 2025–2035.
Medway Council
Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 003 — From Capacity to Resilience. Analysis of Medway's strategic priorities — improving prevention, supporting independence and developing a more sustainable care market.
Bexley Council
Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 004 — From Commissioning to Collaboration. Analysis of Bexley's shift towards personalisation — reducing direct purchasing, increasing personal budgets, direct payments and Individual Service Funds.
Havering Council
Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 005 — From Capacity to Assurance. Analysis of Havering's CQC Requires Improvement context — provider assurance, safeguarding oversight, support for unpaid carers and transitions into adulthood.
Bromley Council
Adult Social Care Intelligence
Publication 006 — From Access to Timely Support. Analysis of Bromley's CQC Requires Improvement context — timely provider readiness, fast mobilisation, safeguarding assurance and specialist capability.
More local authorities
Coming soon
Our research programme is expanding to cover additional local authorities across the South East and beyond. Each report follows our standard evidence-led methodology.
PDA for Social Care
Provider Development & Market Access — the structured methodology under which Odelia Group delivers Council Ready™, our provider development product suite for CQC-registered providers.
Developed through research across 30+ local authorities and direct engagement with 20+ CQC-registered providers, Council Ready™ helps providers understand and strengthen the organisational foundations commissioners may look for before opportunities arise.
Registration & Onboarding
Review of CQC registration, inspection history, service types and geographic coverage.
Readiness Assessment
Structured evaluation of operational capability against council commissioning standards.
Development Planning
Evidence-based gap analysis and a targeted action plan to strengthen commissioning readiness.
Opportunity Matching
Provider capability profiled and aligned to areas of identified local demand.
Evidence Portfolio
Building a structured body of evidence that demonstrates capability to commissioners.
For Local Authorities
Funded by provider subscription — no cost to councils.
Councils access market intelligence, provider assessment data and a pipeline of development-ready providers as a free resource. Funded by those who benefit — the providers.
Book a briefingFor Care Providers
Being registered allows you to operate. Being commissioning-ready helps you compete.
Many capable CQC-registered providers remain underutilised — not because they cannot deliver, but because they are not always visible, assessed or connected to the right opportunities. Council Ready™ helps providers strengthen the organisational foundations that can help build commissioner confidence.
Explore Council Ready™Thought leadership and analysis
Evidence-based perspectives on the issues shaping adult social care provider markets — published regularly to support better decision making across the sector.
The Provider Readiness Gap
Between CQC registration and commissioning readiness lies a gap that many providers do not know how to bridge. Our analysis explains what commissioners actually evaluate — and how providers can prepare.
June 2026WorkforceWorkforce Sustainability in Adult Social Care
Workforce shortages remain the most reported challenge to provider market stability. Our latest research examines the data and identifies practical strategies for retention and development.
May 2026PolicyIntegrated Care Systems and the Provider Market
As ICSs mature, their relationship with the provider market is evolving. This analysis explores what integrated commissioning means for providers — and how to prepare.
April 2026Let's strengthen your provider market together
Whether you are a local authority looking to strengthen your provider market or a provider ready to demonstrate your commissioning readiness, we would like to hear from you.