Welcome listeners, have you ever wondered what an advocate is? What is their role is and why they are so important to some of our most vulnerable? I'm joined today by Rob Alcock, who is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Social Care and Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University. His doctoral project is currently titled: ‘To have their voices heard’? A realist study of independent advocacy under the Care Act 2014. Rob is a registered social worker and practised in local authority adult services before starting his PhD. He can be contacted at [email protected]'.