We are delighted to announce an open call for nominations to fill four vacant positions on the ESWRA Board: two General Board Members and two Doctoral Members. The deadline for nominations is 20 October 2025. The ESWRA Board typically comprises thirteen General Board Members and two Doctoral Members usual term is for three years.

About European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA)

Founded in 2014, the Association is at an exciting time in its development, consolidating our existing strengths whilst growing our membership and developing new Association activities and resources. We are looking for Board Members who will bring enthusiasm, energy, and commitment to the role, and take a pro-active lead in fulfilling ESWRA Goals.

BENEFITS: To promote social work research which will have beneficial consequences for practitioners, service users, educators, researchers, graduate students, and those responsible for service development and delivery.

HIGH STANDARD OF RESEARCH: To foster and maintain the development of high levels of social work research and knowledge production across the European community of nations.

RESEARCH CAPACITY and LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: To enhance both capacity and learning opportunities within and across the European social work community.

RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL WORK: To provide an environment for the application of research methods and approaches by those from a wide range of disciplines within and beyond the social sciences, in forms which have relevance for social work practice and research.

NETWORKS AND COLLABORATION: To build and work with networks of social work researchers within Europe and actively foster links between European and wider international research networks.

Eligibility Criteria for General Board Member Positions:

We invite all ESWRA members who aspire to contribute actively and assume leadership roles within the association to consider seeking election for these positions. Proficiency in English is a prerequisite for candidates.

We seek applications/nominations from Individuals who:

General Board Members

1. who are currently an ESWRA member (at the time of application).
2. Possess Senior Level Academic Leadership and Management Experience:
   • Demonstrated leadership in academia.
   • Proven management skills.
3. Express Interest in Future Role as ESWRA Treasurer:
   • Individuals with financial acumen and a willingness to assume the role of Treasurer in the future.
4. Represent underrepresented European countries:
   • Nominations from European countries currently underrepresented are encouraged, including but not limited to France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czechia, Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Turkiye.

Doctoral Students

1. Who are currently an ESWRA member (at the time of application).
2. Who are currently a PhD student.
3. Represent Underrepresented European Countries:
   • Nominations from European countries currently underrepresented are encouraged, including but not limited to France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czechia, Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Turkiye.

Details of current Board Members are available at: https://www.eswra.org/structure.html

Nomination Process:

Candidates can either be nominated by a fellow ESWRA member or make a self-nomination.

Application Process:

Those interested should send a submission letter to info@eswra.org. The letter indicating willingness to serve on the Board should also include:

• name, title, job title & email address.
• university or other organisational affiliation (name & department).
• confirmation of institutional support for a Board member.
• confirmation of your current membership of ESWRA.
• a list of which European Conferences for social Work Research (ECSWR) you have attended.
• if you do not work in a European institution, then a demonstration of a clear connection to the social work research community in Europe.
• confirmation that you are free to act for three years.
• confirmation that, if elected, you are willing to take on a major Board officer role if asked to do so. Please indicate which roles or committees you would be interested in taking on in the future.  Committees can be found here: Board roles here: https://eswra.org/eswra_commites.php
• a statement of up 150 words maximum briefly outlining your work relevant to social work research and the aims of ESWRA, an indication of what you might offer to the Board in terms of expertise e.g., IT skills; languages; international collaboration experience; research methods teaching; legal aspects of running an organisation; familiarity with Secretary or Treasurer duties; etc. Please note that if your name is put forward for election, your text will be hosted on the ESWRA website for the purposes of the election.

a link to your profile on your institution’s website (if that is available).

Calendar for Election Process:

• Application deadline                         20th October 2025
• Voting period                                    28th October 2025, 7 days.
• Where to send your application:              info@eswra.org

We appreciate your dedication to advancing social work research, and we eagerly await your participation in shaping the future of the European Social Work Research Association. For further details and inquiries, please contact me at Sarah Vicary sarah.vicary@open.ac.uk  or ESWRA at info@eswra.org

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

The Nominations and Election Committee

Sarah Vicary Chair