Helsinki statement on social work practice research

^*This statement was compiled by the 2nd International Conference Scientific Committee composed of Michael J. Austin (USA), Mike Fisher (UK), and Lars Uggerhøj (Denmark) and is based on presentations and workshops made at the conference in Helsinki, Finland, May 2012.

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Notes

^* This statement was compiled by the 2nd International Conference Scientific Committee composed of Michael J. Austin (USA), Mike Fisher (UK), and Lars Uggerhøj (Denmark) and is based on presentations and workshops made at the conference in Helsinki, Finland, May 2012.

1. In Finland, research on the development of national policy and organizational structures to support practice research has identified four models of practice research: the practitioner-oriented, the method oriented, the democratic and the generative model (Practice Research in Nordic Social Work). The common goal in all the models is to bridge the gap between research and practice.

2. The Helsinki conference in May 2012 provided an important venue in a pre-conference format for featuring the work of those engaged in practice research at the Mathilda Wrede Institute for Social Work Practice Research and the Heikki Waris Institute for Social Work Practice Research – both affiliated with the Helsinki Department of Social Services and the University of Helsinki. Visits to the Institutes provided opportunities to demonstrate the involvement of service providers and users in the design and implementation of research projects as well as the role of social work research faculty located at local universities.