Constructing the bridge: The experiences of Norwegian managers in health- and social services in research partnership with higher education – implications for social work education

Background: Previous studies describe that social workers seldom apply research in their daily practice. The Norwegian government expects that professionals in the welfare system to provide high quality research based... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Previous studies describe that social workers seldom apply research in their daily practice. The Norwegian government expects that professionals in the welfare system to provide high quality research based services. Furthermore, higher education institutions have an obligation to transform professional education and research in ways that can improve health- and social services. Research indicates that managers of the services have a key role in developing partnership between higher education and practice. This calls for closer collaboration arrangements between the health- and social services and higher education.
Aim: The aim of the project is to explore the role of the managers in linking health- and social services together with higher education in research partnership. The research questions are:
1) What are the managers’ experiences of research partnerships?
2) What are the implications for social work education?
Method: The study has a qualitative, explorative and descriptive design. The participants have been purposively selected and inclusion criteria were that participants are/have been managers and/or are other key persons of the health – and social services taking part in mutual research projects regarding educational programs on bachelor and/or master level. The data have been collected by means of 3 focus group interviews, with 4-5 participants in each group. The sample consisted of 14 persons involved in 21 projects in total. A qualitative content analysis has been applied that focused on the description on the phenomenon under investigation.
Findings: The managers focus on improvement of services. They have a central and innovative role in linking health- and social services together with higher education in partnership research. The findings will be discussed in light of theories of collaboration, leadership and innovation. Implications for social work education are outlined.