evidence-informed practice

Sharing practice to improve outcomes for care leavers. Evaluation report on an inter-authority learning exchange

Evaluation report for the inter-authority learning exchange between Shetland Islands, Falkirk and Glasgow Councils throughcare and aftercare teams.
In February 2014 a member of the Throughcare and Aftercare team from Shetland, spent two weeks in each host authority as a means of developing and sharing practice, experience and learning.
The report describes the planning process, in-situ experience, and post-exchange learning of participants, it also report highlights the positive learning outcomes and benefits achieved for all participating local authorities.

Harnessing knowledge for innovative and cost-effective practice: the role of the intermediary

Explores how the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) promotes the delivery of cost effective social services in Scotland that will support the achievement of positive outcomes for people accessing support. It identifies a number of principles that underpin the work of IRISS and suggests how these facilitate innovative evidence-informed practice. The approach to evidence-informed practice comprises four pillars of activity.

Perspectives on knowledge into action in education and public service reform: a review of relevant literature and an outline framework for change

A literature review from What Works Scotland. It draws on research from the field of health and social care on evidence informed practice and the processes through which knowledge is translated in to action. Talks about role knowledge champions and knowledge brokers and difference between research contributions and research impact

Practitioner networks: professional learning in the twenty-first century

This article reports on a study of a networked learning approach among remote social work practitioners in a large, rural local authority. The intervention was a blended approach that combined facilitation, face-to-face meetings, online communications and access to e-library resources.

The intervention was focused on discussions of case management issues for three fictional cases. A method of text analysis used in community of enquiry research was implemented to examine participant discourse.

New directions in evidence-based policy research: a critical analysis of the literature

Despite 40 years of research into evidence-based policy (EBP) and a continued drive from both policymakers and researchers to increase research uptake in policy, barriers to the use of evidence are persistently identified in the literature. However, it is not clear what explains this persistence – whether they represent real factors, or if they are artefacts of approaches used to study EBP. Based on an updated review, this paper analyses this literature to explain persistent barriers and facilitators.

Contemporary issues in the public management of social services in Europe

Paper that aims to look at the potential of research methodologies to test a social policy intervention or social service models. It takes a particular interest in the evaluation of cost- effectiveness, impact and transferability. Research evidence is absolutely vital for social work, yet there are barriers at the interface between research and practice: