Title of the SIG: Social work research on digitalisation and technology.

 Aims of the SIG:

This SIG aims to bring together researchers interested in the connections and impacts of digitalisation and technologies in social work. The group seeks to explore how technological changes are transforming social work practice, education, research, supervision and social policies, while also critically examining the risks, ethical implications, and inequalities that may arise from the use of technology in social work. 

The group is also particularly interested in understanding how technological transformations are reshaping society, generating new forms of inequality, exclusion, and vulnerability— and, consequently, leading to the emergence of new social needs. At the same time, the technological world offers countless possibilities—through innovation, connectivity, and data—to design new ways of supporting individuals and communities, a double-edged opportunity that social work must address.  

These new realities – such as the use of AI and chatbots, the role of social media, the rise of digital government services, online waiting lists, and digital registration systems – require creative, adaptable, and ethically grounded responses from the field of social work.  The SIG aims to foster critical and constructive research on digitalisation. It concerns the integration of digital tools, platforms, and infrastructures into social work practice, research, and policy. Also includes examining not only how digital technologies function and their application to social work according to its values, but also how they affect human relationships, identity, access to services, and professional roles in social work. The group also critically reflects on the societal pressure for everyone to keep up with digital trends and the risk of exclusion for those who are digitally less literate or lack access to technology, referred to as clients and professionals. In this light, the SIG also recognises the importance of offline methods and hybrid approaches, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility in social work. And at the same time values the systematisation of bureaucratic constraints to allow clinical social work to emerge to focus more directly on relational, therapeutic and person-centred interventions.

Objectives of the SIG

• Foster a European research network on technology and social work that involves researchers with a diverse range of theoretical, methodological, and geographical backgrounds.
• Advance interdisciplinary and critical research on the digital transformation of social services, the use of data and algorithms in decision-making, digital competencies for social work professions and the role of technology in social intervention.
• Explore the ethical, political, and professional implications of using technology in social work.
• Advances in research on how digital transformation is reshaping society and creating new needs and how social work can respond to these challenges with creativity, ethical awareness, and innovation.
• Facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange through joint research projects, publications, funding, and knowledge transfers.
•  Encourage participatory and innovative approaches to studying and shaping technological practices in social work.
•  Promote continuous analysis, dialogue, and visibility in this field within and beyond the ESWRA community.

2. Scope of the SIG:

The SIG will focus on the intersection between technology and social work research. It will explore how digital tools, platforms, artificial intelligence, data management, and emerging technologies are shaping social work practices, management, ethics, education, and policy across Europe. The field of interest encompasses a broad spectrum of theoretical and methodological approaches, aiming to generate multidisciplinary dialogue and critical reflection. Topics may include but are not limited to digital inclusion, algorithmic decision-making, digital competencies, online service delivery, surveillance, facilitated participatory methods, AI, and the ethical implications of data use in social work.

3. SIG Convenors

• Dr Judit Castellví-Majó, lecturer, Department of Education, Psychology, and Social Work, Universitat de Lleida, Catalunya, Spain judit.castellvi@udl.cat
• Dr Samuel Salovaara, Senior Researcher, Lapin Yliopisto, Finland. Samuel.Salovaara@ulapland.fi
• Mrs. Jana Verplancke, Lecturer & Researcher in Social Work, Artevelde, University of Applied Sciences, Belgium. jana.verplancke@arteveldehs.be

4. Founding SIG members

• Dr Anne Wullum Aasback, Researcher, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Samfunnsforskning, Norway
• Dr Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong
• Mrs E. Claassens, Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Work & Criminology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Dr Sanna Hautala, Professor of Social Work, Department of Social Work, University of Lapland, Finland
• Prof. Dr Melinda Madew, Professor of International Social Work, Protestant University of Applied Sciences Ludwigsburg, Germany
• Dr Matilde Høybye Mortensen, Associate Professor in Social Work, VIA University College, Denmark
• Dr Kettil Nordesjö, Associate Professor in social work, Department of Social Work, Malmö University, Sweden
• Dr Lorena Valencia Gálvez, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, School of Social Work, University of Barcelona, Spain
• Mrs Katri Ylönen, Principal Lecturer, Institute of Rehabilitation, School of Health and Social Studies, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland