Collaboration increases learning - a way to improve citizens' living conditions
Research will now be made more accessible to the department of Social Services in Jönköping municipality. Researchers from the School of Health and Welfare at Jönköping University and Lund University have together with Jönköping municipality started the project "Towards a Social Services University - collaboration between practice and academia". The overall goal is to improve citizens' living conditions.
Ulrika Börjesson is a project manager and works as a research manager at Jönköping Municipality.
The initiative comes from Jönköping municipality, which is working towards increasing learning within its organisation,. The project will help to create strategies, and ways to disseminate and anchor knowledge. Ulrika Börjesson, project manager, works as a research manager at Jönköping municipality and has formerly been aresearcher in Social Work at the School of Health and Welfare.. The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte) is funding the project which has come about as a result of the new Social Services Act that will enter into force in 2025, which requires a more evidence-based approach for the work that social services carries out. .
"In addition to contributing to organisational development and innovation, the more important overall goal of the project is to improve citizens' living conditions," says Ulrika Börjesson.
'Unique to think comprehensively’
The project consists of four parts:
- research podcast - dissemination and implementation of knowledge
- research in administration - systematic documentation and follow-up
- research seminar - management meetings as an arena for knowledge dissemination, implementation and learning.
- from reference group to steering group - exploring management systems for collaboration in a future University of Social Services.
Professor Monika Allgurin, from the School of Health and Welfare at Jönköping University, is also involved in the project. She will contribute with documentation and will analyse structures in order to be able to disseminate relevant research further within the organisation.. She will also carry out external monitoring. The project’s unique selling point is to think comprehensively and see learning as a natural part of social services’ work.
“The goal is to have developed a platform that attracts both employees and researchers by 2026,” says Ulrika.
The project runs from April 2024 to the end of December 2026.
