There have long been concerns in social work about the gap between research and professional practice. This workshop highlights the issues involved in developing evidence-informed practice in social work and social care. It outlines current developments across a range of Universities which exemplify the effective mobilisation of research into practice. Contributed by: Scottish Universities Social Work Education

1. Putting it into Practice:
Research, Knowledge Exchange
and Knowledge Mobilisation
Andrew Kendrick (Strathclyde University)
Janine Bolger (RGU)
Kathryn Mackay (Stirling University)

2. Research can be viewed as:
 Cold-hearted statistics
 Selfish or self-indulgent
 Exploiting service users and professional
 Distant and removed from practice
 Expensive/time consuming/lengthy

3. Evidence-based / Evidence-informed Practice
 Developing methods to evaluate effectiveness of
practice
 Debating the nature of evidence
 Building a research and knowledge culture across
the sector
 Improving the accessibility of research and improve
dissemination and knowledge mobilisation
 Supporting the ntegration of research and evidence
into practice

4. Types of Knowledge
 Organisational knowledge
 Practitioner knowledge
 User knowledge
 Research knowledge
 Policy knowledge
(Pawson et al, 2003, Types and Quality of Knowledge in
Social Care

5. Post-Qualifying Courses and Short Courses
 Social Work/Social Services Management
 Child Protection and Child Welfare
 Child and Youth Studies
 Adult Support and Protection
 Mental Heath Officer
 Global Social Policy and Social Work

6. Post-Qualifying Courses and Short Courses
 Flexible patterns of delivery
 Campus – based
 Locally / Regionally – based
 Distance / Blended learning
 Various levels of qualification
 Certificate / Diploma / Masters
 Increasingly multi-disciplinary student group
 Providing: up-to-date knowledge, space for critical
reflection and supporting improvements in
practice

7. Partnership through Centres of Excellence:
 Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in
Scotland (CELCIS)
 WithScotland
 Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability (SCLD)
 Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice (CYCJ)
 The Dementia Centre (DSCD)

8. Partnership through Centres of Excellence:
 Training and courses
 Consultancy and specialist expertise
 Research
 Engagement with policy and practice
 Conferences and seminars

9. Collaborative Research and Knowledge
Exchange Projects
 Post-graduate research students and professional
doctorates
 Practitioner research projects
 University and agency partnerships
 Action-research projects and co-production projects
with service users and practitioners
 Knowledge exchange projects

10. Practitioner – Academic Exchanges
 Secondments
 Split academic/practice jobs
 Internships
 Job-shadowing

11. Developing Technologies
 Virtual Learning Environments
 Social Media
 Communities of Practice
 Knowledge Hubs

12. Developments in Scotland
 What Works Scotland
 Research impact and knowledge exchange
 Social Work Services Strategic Review
 Research and KE in the strategic review