This research area focuses on various aspects of organisations, professions, and collaboration within organisations involved in social work. Issues related to organisations, professions, and institutional conditions have long been highlighted and debated in social work. In recent years, attention has increasingly been directed towards governance and organisation of social work, as well as the need for collaboration across organisational boundaries. This is particularly relevant in relation to evaluation, follow-up, evidence-based practices, and digitalisation. Additionally, the scientific discourse has addressed questions about the jurisdiction, autonomy, and knowledge utilisation of professions. All these issues underline the importance and relevance of understanding the implications of governance, organisation, collaboration, and professional conditions in social work.
The department’s research in this area encompasses a variety of human service organisations, such as social services, elder care, schools, healthcare, institutional care, and advocacy groups. Similarly, the research touches on a wide range of human service professions, including social workers, police officers, and healthcare personnel. One area that has garnered increasing attention in recent years is welfare technology in social work. Within this profile, projects such as Social Care and Digital Technology in Municipal Home Care focus on the organisational prerequisites for the use of digital technology in home care services. Other projects linked to this research area explore the conditions for implementing automation and AI, the impact of governance and organisation on the possibility of evidence-based social services, and the conditions for sustainable implementation of complex work models in a municipal context.
Within this research area, researchers collaborate with other institutions and universities, as well as with actors outside academia, such as various research and development (R&D) units. The department also hosts the Umeå Centre for Evaluation Research (UCER), a network that spans all faculties at Umeå University. This network includes collaborations with other universities, government agencies, and R&D units across Sweden.
