“Beyond a practice-research bridge”: project conceptualisation, implementation, and dissemination by an internal social work intermediary in Singapore

ABSTRACT

Despite shifting attention from whether practice research is advantageous to doing practice research better, the organisational role of internal social work intermediaries beyond initiating practice-research partnerships, especially in Asia, is less understood. Using a multi-modal qualitative case study approach, across project conceptualisation, implementation, and dissemination, we first documented the initial benefits and challenges of an internal Singaporean social work intermediary bridging practitioners and researchers. Subsequently, we described how the intermediary seized opportunities and went beyond mere stakeholder bridging by defining engagement terms and creating, using, and opening up a practice-research space. Implications for internal intermediaries and organisational functions are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• case study
• intermediary
• practice research
• Singapore
• social work

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development under the Social and Family Research Fund (SFRF-2018-1). The Ministry of Social and Family Development does not endorse the research project or its findings, methods or results in any way and that any views, findings or results arising from the research project are strictly the Principal Investigator’s own.

Notes on contributors

Stella Meiyi Teo

Stella Meiyi Teo is Head of Impact & Research (Transformation Office) at TOUCH Community Services.

Jennifer Hui Nee Koh

Koh Hui Nee Jennifer is Assistant Manager of Impact & Research (Transformation Office) at TOUCH Community Services.

Jin Yao Kwan

Jin Yao Kwan is a social work postdoctoral fellow at the GraduateSchool of Social Work at the University of Denver.