Social work + just design = practice 2.0

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social work as a profession is an opportune leader for a global vision that encompasses collective futures for all. This vision is one of a 2nd-century social work profession advancing practice 2.0 to align with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Social work practice 2.0 begins in the classroom, centering human rights alongside the discipline of design, and extends into practice settings. Design, for the purposes of this article, refers generally to human-centered design, design thinking, and service design. The vision of social work 2nd century links the purpose and principles of social work with those of design. Social work and design both incorporate systems thinking while emphasizing place-based interventions that contextualize service delivery. Practice 2.0 links all levels in social work’s ubiquitous multi-level micro-mezzo-macro- intervention framework and does so through design justice. Design justice is design through an equity lens, which advances innovation to improve the service user, or client, experience. A human rights approach is critical for operationalizing the vision of social work 2nd century—and it begins with teaching human rights in social work education.