A Note From the Editor-in-Chief

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Previous articleNext article FreeSpecial Section: Implementing the Grand Challenges for Social Work InitiativeA Note From the Editor-in-ChiefJeffrey M. JensonJeffrey M. JensonUniversity of Denver Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreI am pleased to introduce this special section on implementing the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative. Collectively, the five papers in this section capture presentations made at the initiative’s official launch on January 16, 2016, at the annual conference of the Society for Social Work and Research. In this special section, the authors of these presentations extend their initial ideas by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the training, scientific, and translational issues associated with implementing and advancing the Grand Challenges for Social Work.The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative: Background and ProgressThe Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative stems from an invited meeting of social work scholars, administrators, and national leaders held in the summer of 2012 at the IslandWood conference center on Bainbridge Island, WA. At this meeting, Edwina Uehara from the University of Washington School of Social Work introduced attendees to what leaders in engineering and other disciplines called a grand challenges approach to solving complex problems (Uehara et al., 2014). The Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative was subsequently adopted by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) in 2013 as its first comprehensive initiative.The AASWSW moved quickly to establish the Grand Challenges Executive Committee, a group composed of accomplished researchers, educators, and policymakers from social work and related disciplines. The committee commissioned background papers aimed at introducing social work to the grand challenges strategy (Sherraden, Barth, et al., 2014) and conveying the historical context for a grand challenges approach in the field (Sherraden, Stuart, et al., 2014). The AASWSW subsequently issued a broad call for working papers that addressed significant and compelling social problems. The field responded with more than 80 ideas and concepts. This process, described in detail on the AASWSW website (http://aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiative/), led to the selection of 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work (AASWSW, n.d.-a). The presence of empirical evidence suggesting that identified problems could be changed and measured in a 10-year span was a key component of the criteria used to select grand challenges.The Way ForwardThe Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative has gained considerable traction since its adoption by the AASWSW in 2013. A national policy conference using the 12 grand challenges as a guiding framework was held at Washington University in St. Louis in September 2016 (Center for Social Development, 2016). The AASWSW instituted a webinar series in October 2016 to highlight progress being made in each of the 12 grand challenges. The series began with a presentation by the authors of the Grand Challenge to Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth (AASWSW, n.d.-b). Peer-reviewed publications detailing the importance of the Grand Challenges for Social Work have also begun to appear in the published literature (Padilla & Fong, 2016).The papers in this special section illustrate how quickly the field has galvanized its energy and resources to accept and implement the grand challenges strategy. As the authors note, advancing the Grand Challenges for Social Work will require intentional and comprehensive changes in training practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. Advancements also will be dependent on the field’s ability to effectively use empirical evidence to inform the direction of policies and practices aimed at ameliorating the underlying conditions embedded in each of the 12 grand challenges. The authors of papers in this special section describe and poignantly illustrate the type of training, scientific, translational, and collaborative work that is necessary to effectively implement and assess the effects of the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative. I am pleased to include their groundbreaking work in this special section. May it stimulate readers to consider and implement scientifically grounded and innovative approaches to advancing the Grand Challenges for Social Work.NotesJeffrey M. Jenson, PhD, is the Philip D. & Eleanor G. Winn Endowed Professor for Children and Youth at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Jeffrey M. Jenson, University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work, 2148 S. High St., Denver, CO 80208 or via e-mail to [email protected]ReferencesAmerican Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW). (n.d.-a). Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative [Website]. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiativeFirst citation in articleGoogle ScholarAmerican Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW). (n.d.-b). Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth [Web page]. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiative/12-challenges/ensure-healthy-development-for-all-youth/First citation in articleGoogle ScholarCenter for Social Development. (2016, September). Social Innovation for America's Renewal: Ideas, Evidence, Action conference at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Retrieved from https://csd.wustl.edu/events/ConferencesAndSymposia/Pages/Grand-Challenges-for-Social-Work-Policy-Conference.aspxFirst citation in articleGoogle ScholarPadilla, Y. C., & Fong, R. (2016). Identifying grand challenges facing social work in the next decade: Maximizing social policy engagement. Journal of Policy Practice, 15, 133–144. doi:10.1080/15588742.2015.1013238First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle ScholarSherraden, M., Barth, R. P., Brekke, J., Fraser, M. W., Manderscheid, R., & Padgett, D. K. (2014). Social is fundamental: Introduction and context for grand challenges for social work (Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 1). Baltimore, MD: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/WP1-with-cover.pdfFirst citation in articleGoogle ScholarSherraden, M., Stuart, P., Barth, R. P., Kemp, S., Lubben, J., Hawkins, J. D., … Catalano, R. (2014). Grand accomplishments in social work (Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 2). Baltimore, MD: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/WP2-with-cover.pdfFirst citation in articleGoogle ScholarUehara, E. S., Barth, R. P., Catalano, R. F., Hawkins, J. D., Kemp, S. P., Nurius, P. S., … Sherraden, M. (2014). Identifying and tackling grand challenges for social work (Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 3). Baltimore, MD: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Retrieved from http://aaswsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/WP3-with-cover.pdfFirst citation in articleGoogle Scholar Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research Volume 8, Number 1Spring 2017 Published for the Society for Social Work and Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/690618HistoryPublished online January 23, 2017 KeywordsGrand Challenges for Social WorkAmerican Academy of Social Work and Social WelfareSociety for Social Work and Research© 2017 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Todd I. 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