“Practicing what you preach” – Are evidence-based strategies for implementation employed in efforts seeking to enhance an evidence-based practice in social services?

´Knowledge governance’ as a means for strengthening the equity, effectiveness and quality of social services has been developed in Sweden over the last decade.

As part of this effort, a competence development concept called ‘Yrkesresan’ is currently being implemented in Sweden, involving professionals and managers within the social services organization in educational interventions.

The aim of Yrkesresan is to strengthen staff and managers’ professional integrity and pride by enabling and enhancing their ability to offer a knowledge-based social work practice.In the upcoming research project the implementation of the competence development concept Yrkesresan will be explored, with the same point of departure that the initiative itself strives to achieve in social work practice - i.e. that interventions rest on science and proven experience.

The aim of the upcoming project is twofolded: I) To investigate implementation strategies used during launching and early implementation of Yrkesresan, and study whether they correspond to available knowledge on implementation and II) Through an action research approach (in collaboration with involved key actors), help transfer available evidence on implementation into practical use during Yrkesresan, and thereby aid to the closing of the knowledge-practice gap in social services.To prepare for and facilitate the proposed research project a thourogh planning and startup phase is needed.

During such phase, time will be invested in developing the appropriate basis (an adequate framework) to guide the study of the upcoming research project aims and to properly establish and form collaborative relations with key actors involved in the planning, launch and implementation of Yrkesresan.The planning project will substanially aid feasibility of the planned action research project and the knowledge gained from the upcoming research project is highly useful for the knowledge governance and social care system as a whole.