Progress on the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Richard Barth, John Brekke, Darla Spence Coffey, Rowena Fong Presented to the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education November 2, 2013

Deep Background Thanks to the CSWE, the Saint Louis Group, NASW, SSWR, and NADD without which there would very likely be no Academy!

Background Island Wood Meeting (hosted by USC, UW, in Coordination with Brown School, U Chicago, AASWSW, SSWR) – Science of Social Work discussion continued from SSWR presentation by John Brekke and convening in summer of 2011 – Grand Challenges for SW discussion begun Grand Challenges Roles – The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (The Academy) would advance the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative (GCI) – The Grand Challenges Executive Committee would direct the Initiative, itself, subject to AASWSW Board review

AASWSW Board Decisions Select an Executive Committee of (as per other National Academy of Science panels) – Fellows of the Academy would predominate but be supplemented by other expertise – Communication with other SW leadership organizations would be maintained – The Executive Committee would select its own Chair or Co-Chair, identify the process to be used, and the duration of the project – The AASWSW Board would endeavor to raise the support needed to support the Academy but would commit a substantial proportion of its own resources to launch the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative

Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Executive Committee John Brekke and Rowena Fong (Co-Conveners) Claudia Coulton King Davis Diana DiNitto Marilyn Flynn Rowena Fong J. David Hawkins James Lubben Ron Mandersheid Yolanda Padilla Michael Sherraden Eddie Uehara Karina Walters Staff: Sarah Butts, UMB SSW

Definite GCI Products A process that is open and fair and offers a high probability of quickly achieving a compelling set of grand challenges A set of grand challenges that has supporting scholarship and meets established criteria: 1.Challenge must be big, important, and compelling. 2.Scientific evidence indicates that the challenge could be solved. 3.Meaningful and measurable progress to address the challenge can be made in a decade. 4.The challenge is likely to generate interdisciplinary or cross- sector collaboration. 5.Solution to the challenge requires significant innovation.

Definite GCSWI Products An appealing presentation of these challenges using social media and other strategies that will help to recruit new social work applicants and investors to our cause New website for the Academy to better host the Grand Challenges of Social Work Initiative (aaswsw.org) and mechanism for collection of GC ideas.

Definite GCI Products Media presentation that captures some of our fields highlights and demonstrates our capacity. Documentation of how local university initiatives can use the Grand Challenges strategy and contribute to the success of the GCI Academy sponsored Written Products, Journal Articles, White Papers and other publications

GCSWI White Papers and Publications Complete and Available on the Academy website: Grand Challenges for Social Work Impact Model Journal of the Society for Social Work Research Grand Challenges for Social Work Announcement and Invited Paper, Published October, 2013 Forthcoming Grand Challenges Papers: Identifying and Tackling Grand Challenges in Social Work Context of the Grand Challenges for Social Work Grand Accomplishments of Social Work

Initiative Financing To Date Founding contributions to the Academy from Universities Annual dues from Fellows Significant underwriting of current operations by USC, Washington University, University of Washington, Case, and Maryland

Likely Strategies for Additional Input on Goals (TBD by GCSWI EC) The Profession’s Way – National Academy of Engineering’s approach (many meetings and much involvement of engineers on a regional basis) The Expert’s Way? – Gate’s Foundation’s Grand Challenges for Global Health relied on an international group of luminaries – NIMH Grand Challenges for Global Mental Health Heavy reliance on Delphi Method

The GCSWI Way MULTIPLE ROUNDS Round 1 (opens TODAY)! – Make a Grand Challenge Suggestion GC Executive Committee Reviews Ideas will be posted on the website for comment and collaborative development Round 2 (opens in January 2014) – Submission of more refined and complete Grand Challenge proposals to provide evidence on how they meet the Grand Challenges Criteria – GC Executive Committee Reviews Round 3 (Date and Method TBD) DEMO WEBSITE

Additional Input on Goals (TBD) Getting Ideas in Open Sessions – NADD in March (completed) – CSWE next October (in process) – Other open sessions or testimonial sessions? – AASWSW Grand Challenges website AASWSW by query and website Other?

Developing the Grand Challenges Iteratively Initial Grand Challenges Selection – The grandness of the challenge (e.g., how it links to other efforts to have a transformative effect) – Making the case for the achievability of the challenge (based on prior success in moving this area of social work forward) – Clarifying the scientific path that is the starting point for future work – Selecting the final challenges Final Grand Challenges Selection – Separating the few very best first challenges

Development of an Action Plan for Using the Grand Challenges – Conference (or Panel at Another Conference) on Grand Challenges? – Special issue or section of journal on the Grand Challenges Initiative? – Special GCI grant announcement (need sponsoring funding partners) – Social media support

GCI Vanguard Schools A few schools (USC, UW, UCB, at least) are starting their own Grand Challenges projects – These are already building a process that may be of use to the GCI – Some will have completed this process and have challenges articulated by spring or summer

GCSWI Timeline Evaluation (2-months) – Is the idea of grand challenges likely to advance the work of the field and the Academy? Is the translation from math, engineering, and global health a feasible one for social work? [DONE, AASWSW Board Agrees to Pursue Grand Challenges Initiative in September 2013] 4-months—have Grand Challenges Executive Committee Selected by January 2013 (Completed March 4, 2013) 12-months: develop background, prepare website and initial data collection tools, finish grand challenges input, prepare report (Will be completed by 12/31/2013) months: Continued roll out of GCSWI

Eventual Implementation of Grand Challenges Technical assistance re implementation? – Training on methods that may be useful for accomplishing Grand Challenges? Evaluation (every year for 5 years)? – Are the Grand Challenges attracting interest? Investment? – Are scientific groups gathering around the Grand Challenges? – Are steps in the translational science process being accomplished toward addressing the Grand Challenges? – Is education being influenced?

GCSWI’s Potential Impact on Education National Academy of Education examples: University of Texas at Austin---Social Work and Engineering global outreach education and service learning University of Tennessee---Grand Challenges Scholars Program undergraduate and graduate student curricular and extracurricular program

GCSWI’s Potential Impact on Education National Academy of Engineering Examples: Duke University, USC, Olin College Grand Challenge Summit Series sustaining dialogue and fostering engagement among universities

GCSWI’s Potential Impact on CSWE Faculty Development Institutes on Grand Challenges Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture on Grand Challenges Elective course content and field practicums related to Grand Challenges Professional Recognition, Significant Lifetime Achievement, Innovative Teaching Awards recognizing Grand Challenge accomplishments

Discussion Questions What are the most productive ways to enlist participation from CSWE members? How can we create good opportunities for participation from a wide range of schools? Should we create regional hubs of activity that join college/university participation with local agencies? Should we create material that can be specifically used for classroom presentations at the BSW and MSW levels?

THANK YOU Questions, Comments, Recommendations?

Partial References Collins, P. Y., Vikram, P., Joestl, S. S., March, D., Insel, T., & Daar, A. S. (2011). Grand challenges in global mental health. Nature 475 (7345), doi: /475027a. Grand Challenges Canada™. (January 2011). Bold Ideas for Humanity: The Grand Challenges Approach. Toronto, CA: Author. Supplemental information s%20in%20Global%20Mental%20Health%20Supplementary%2 0Information.pdf