BASW and SCIE survey on digital capabilities in social work
What is this survey about?
Social workers in the UK use digital technologies and resources every day. But little is known about their overall experiences, knowledge, concerns and hopes for the future in relation to digital technology.
As digital technologies evolve at pace and affect the lives of all of us personally and professionally, by completing this survey you will make a vital contribution to ensuring social workers are supported, confident, knowledgeable, skilled - and can influence the development of digital in our sector.
The guidance and social worker capabilities will be based on wide engagement with social workers, people who use services and other stakeholders. Your views matter!
Please complete as many questions as relevant to you, most questions in this survey are optional.
Why is this survey being done now?
NHS Digital and Health Education England have commissioned the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) to develop and provide new guidance and a digital capabilities framework for social workers. This is part of the NHS ‘Building a digital ready workforce’ programme and will ensure social workers’ views and needs are considered alongside those of health colleagues.
What do we mean by ‘digital’?
We are interested in ‘digital’ in social work in a wide sense including:
- Electronic systems (hardware and software) to facilitate day to day work by social workers e.g. email, electronic record systems, applications (‘apps’)
- Online resources for professionals and people using services e.g. apps and websites providing wellbeing or mental health support, or providing information
- Assistive technologies e.g. communication aids and robotics to directly help users of services
- Social media and social networking e.g. use of twitter and facebook to connect social workers on professional issues and to connect people who use services
- Informatics and the use of data reports and analytics by social workers to monitor and improve services
- Access to equipment e.g. mobile devices and web enabled laptops.
- E-learning e.g. online courses and webinars
What will be the outcome(s) of this survey?
The data from this survey will be combined with information gathered from the focus groups, interviews and workshops, and analysed. The survey will have a direct impact on the project output. Your responses to this survey will not be individually identifiable. Quotes from free text responses may be anonymised and used in publications.