Social Work Futures

Hiring Social Work Faculty that are "Future Ready"

The term “future ready” is popular – one sees it frequently in day to day life. But what does it mean for social work faculty and for Ph.D./D.S.W. students currently intending to make higher education – and the preparation of the next generation of social workers their careers?

This past year, I had a number of occasions to explore this topic with faculty and a variety of doctoral students at various levels of their preparation. Given consideration – one can imagine that a brand new doctoral degree who is looking at a 30 year career ahead simply must assume disruption, complexity and challenge that is unprecedented in the history of the academy – and in social work. If I were hiring right now, I’d be looking for people have been thoughtful, analytic and curious about these types of dynamics and first and foremost – are committed to being rigorous lifelong learners.

I thought I’d share my developing ideas here in the blog. I welcome the opportunity to continue to develop these ideas – because of course the process of getting ready for what comes next is ALWAYS a work in progress and never really done.

High priority for “future ready” social work faculty:

Clear orientation towards a practice/research ecosystem that is undergoing significant and systemic turbulence. A prospective future ready faculty member would have the analytic capacity to identify how these trends (economic, climate, migration, technological and others) would impact vulnerable people now and in the future with related courses of research and/or practice to remedy/address without compromising social work values and ethics. An ability to articulate risks/opportunities in the future with regard to his/her/their practice area.

Clear orientation towards a higher education ecosystem that is undergoing significant and systemic turbulence. A prospective future ready faculty member would be prepared and engaged in efforts to simultaneously preserve important elements of the traditions of higher education with ideas, experiences and accomplishments that indicate capacity to participate in intentional systemic evolution without compromising social work values and ethics.

Skills related to educational, analytic and/or communication technology in higher education. A demonstrated ability to positively contribute system-wide in this area.

Orientation towards “cognitive load management” given the influx of competing demands. A prospective future ready faculty member would have skills and an ability to articulate how he/she/they manage competing demands and “noisy” educational/practice settings (given that this dynamic will likely increase not decrease in the future).

An ability to articulate and apply social work values and ethics in new kinds of practice challenges (e.g., artificial intelligence, increased use of technology) with a specific eye towards emerging and potentially ill-defined equity challenges of the future. Orientation towards the need for and commitment to continuing to evolve social work ethics given 1 and 2 above.

Ability to articulate frameworks for and skills with 21^st century equity work with developed sensibilities about how equity work will change in the future (esp. as related to technological and political variables) in both higher education and social work practice settings. This may include but is not limited to concepts of “tech design justice.”

Ability to articulate plans for and articulate desire to manage going learning and personal career-long development with an understanding of, respect and passion for being impactful given 1 and 2 above.

Ability to span local to global (and back again) in new ways as the interconnectedness across geopolitical boundaries increases in the years to come.

Ability to work in interprofessional contexts and contribute meaningfully in interdisciplinary settings.

Special thanks to Dean Eddie Uehara and Dean Nancy Smyth for guidance and input on these ideas.

I’ve posted a PDF here if you’d like a copy of these ideas – and they are shared with a Creative Commons 4.0 license.

The Future of the Social Determinants of Health – An Eclectic and Transdisciplinary Scan of the Academic Literature – January 24, 2020

According to the World Health Organization, the social determinants of health are “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.”

In preparation for deeper work in the new national Social Work Education Health Futures Lab – this preliminary review of the literature is shared. Our effort will seek to invite social work scholars to contribute to new ways of imaging and contributing to health equity and sharing them in the form of research, curriculum and scholarship. How will social work and social work education advance health equity in the future? That question will be our guiding star.

The goal of the linked review was to identify a beginning group of resources that mentioned social determinants of health along with concepts of the future, climate change, technology (including artificial intelligence, social media and other dimensions) along with an assortment of other concepts deemed related to futures or foresight.

Social work has made many contributions to health equity in the United States, and a few of them are included here. Our next challenge is to prepare for what comes next and how to navigate, shape and co-create a future in which health is respected as a human right and to which systems and supports to reinforce health for all is a reality. Social work education will do this by preparing a workforce that is ready and able to deliver this promise. This resource list will help to spark some ideas – but should not in any way limit our imaginations.

By its very nature, this review is eclectic, transdisciplinary and emergent. Pathways forward to building a more equitable health future will rely on our collective intelligence, imagination and agility – and will require us to look for new kinds of information and put it together in new ways. The academic literature will always be an is an imperfect and incomplete knowledge base – but it serves to give us a reference point and a place to find what our fellow social scientists have explored.

Updates and revisions will be forthcoming. I invite suggestions – so if you have ideas for good resources you think should be included, they are welcome.

Recent Ideas from Twitter – Social Work Futures – January 23, 2020

Note: This is part of a regular occasional series of blog posts I do that is based on scans of Twitter and elsewhere on the web – and a gathering of interesting things I think social workers, social work educators, folks in higher education and related professions who interested in futures topics might find valuable. It is a digest, and is unapologetically eclectic. Here’s a link to prior posts – check them out too!!

Smart Cities

Now for some alternative ways of thinking about the smart cities push, what if we advocated for low-tech cities that maybe aren’t so smart…but potentially much better for humanity? This article considers that premise. (P.S. my own editorial note – I don’t think the word “dumb” in the title is helpful or appropriate. I liked the article…the title not so much. Oh well.)

Tech and Society

This past year, San Francisco hosted an art exhibit called “The Glass Room” which had a focus on the interconnected impacts of tech, data and surveillance on modern life. I didn’t get a chance to go…but here’s a wonderful write up describing it in some detail. Sounds like it was very cool and thought provoking.

Here’s a group called “Data Detox” that has put together a useful guide on disinformation. They highlight the importance of this especially in a run up to an election. Another interesting resource I found were some “digital citizenship” guidelines from DigCitCommit. I liked these a lot – this whole website is quite full of cool tools and resources.

Found another interesting piece about an emerging academic discipline called “digital humanities” – literally applying humanities methodologies and worldviews to technology.

Should we have the right to protect our attention in a world seeking to distract us? This little piece from a couple of years ago is a thoughtful exploration of that topic. Reminds me in some ways of Futurist Amber Case’s work with Calm Technology which you can read more about here.

By the way, who owns your data and what is the future of privacy? Another futurist I follow on the regular, is Amy Webb. She has thoughts she shares about this topic here – important piece. The risks are high for all of us…but I continue to think about how they are disproportionally concerning for the most vulnerable in our world. As usual. We need to do better.

I’m a big fan of the group “Dot Everyone” – it’s a UK-based “responsible tech” think tank. They do such a great job of being up front with their values (which are in sync with many of mine as a social worker) and they do a lot with creative projects and process, implemented in an ethical and transparent way. I follow them on Twitter…but their website is wonderful to browse and engage with.

The Future of Food

This is a fascinating topic I haven’t spent a lot of time on, but is an incredibly interesting and relevant subject as it relates to the future of human survival. The Institute for the Future has done a lot of work in this area. Here’s another fun overview from the BBC.

Here’s an interesting piece related to the future (and benefits) of lab grown meat.

The Future of Weapons/Security

I don’t really like this topic. That said, it is fascinating and a space for thoughtful people to engage and contribute to a world where we don’t have these tools of destruction. The truth is, powerful people (governments and corporations) continue to use many new tools and technologies as tools of war and security – and much of this is largely hidden from civilian view. Let’s be brave and look it in the face and think through the implications of various futures – pushing ourselves and our leaders towards the futures we democratically decide we want. Here’s a couple of links that, frankly, should worry us. I’m in favor of many other worldbuilding methods – like peacemaking, equity, diplomacy and rational democratic processes. Let’s hold our world leaders accountable and keep an eye on what happens in these spaces. A new hypersonic weapon from Russia is described here. Here’s an overview of new military tech – the good and the bad. Here’s an overview of military drones around the world, and here’s a more academic analysis. Here’s some of the futures/foresight work undertaken by NATO. I found one article which speaks to the ethical imperative of drone developers to take a strong stand against use of these tools as autonomous weapons. And of course, the future brings with it new kinds of conflict too…here’s a piece about cyberwarfare (in this case with the real time concerns about conflict with Iran). Here’s a guide from Wired about cyberwarfare in more detail. All of these are offered to provoke discussion and further exploration (especially regarding the ethical dimensions of these tools and practices). I will be doing some further exploring on futurists who work on peace issues – interestingly they are harder to find than those thinking up new high tech weapons in our conflict-laden world. I’m going to end this part of the post with a bigger and essentially worthy futures vision – for a world without war, and a TED talk by a young woman exploring this very topic.

In Praise of Science Fiction

This little piece urges a renewed commitment and appreciation for science fiction – especially in dealing with our greatest global challenges – climate change.

The Future Imagination Summit

This is a report from the first national Future Imagination Summit. Comprised of “radical futurists, grounded with deep critiques of the current world, calling into action a collective future for all, based on compassion, justice, and harmony. By imagining radical futures, people’s movements can conjure these visions into actions in the present day.” Check out an overview of the truly inspiring gathering they had in late 2019. This is a meeting I’d love to go to someday if it continues.

Recent Ideas from Twitter – Social Work Futures – January 15, 2020

The Future of Law

I’m always interested in news items related to the future of the professions. As we know – this is a fast moving area and many factors are at work in their evolution . (For more on this topic in general see here). This piece is a survey of lawyers all pondering “what’s coming” in their profession and whether or not they feel ready for it.

Black Software

Author Charlton McIlwain has written a terrific book (on my sabbatical reading list) of this same name (Black Software). Here’s a podcast interview with the author that I found a great introduction to his work…you’re going to want to learn more. The history and importance of Black perspectives on tech and society are essential to a true understanding of the power, risks and opportunities of what comes next. Thought provoking!

Future of Work

I’m fans of the Susskind family – they are always putting more interesting things into the world related to the future of work and the professions (see note above). I just ran across a recent TED talk by Daniel Susskind on Three Myths Regarding the Future of Work. It isn’t short…but it is a rigorous, creative and important overview of this topic. I highly recommend!

Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians

Not just because my mom was one (a bookmobile lady to be precise) but I have so much love, respect and appreciation for good librarians and all who work in the sector. The library professionals at my university, like many, are extraordinarily future facing and ever looking ahead to new forms of literacy, information production and how to stay relevant and helpful in our shared academic spaces. While scanning, I ran across this great report – I passed it along to my colleagues but thought others might be interested too.

Climate Change

It can just be paralyzing can’t it? So much to worry about – where to start – how to keep going? At the same time we are having an awakening about the relevance of eco-psychology and the very real needs humans have for nature, we of course are dealing with deep, pervasive and emergent climate change complexity as well. Here’s a piece from the Economist on the “state” of our climate change work to do in here and now, as well as the future. Here’s a piece about “ecological grief” as experienced by climate scientists. It is sobering. Listen, we have no choice but to help each other focus, breathe deeply and KEEP GOING. This article from the NYT this past week is an energizer. Do you what you can, be strategic, get busy. Focus on the right things.

On this same topic, here’s a new and useful piece regarding the emerging importance of acknowledging the mental heath strain and challenges related to climate change. Connecting these dots is important, say these authors. Here’s another piece that breaks down what hope about climate change means now and in the future. Finally, here’s a super creative piece that endeavors to “tell a new story” about climate change by fast-forwarding into the future…and imagining how we solved the climate crisis in the year 2030.

Tech and AI

Here’s a lively piece from one of my favorite futurists Douglass Rushkoff in which he begins by saying: “We’ve spent the decade letting our tech define us. It’s out of control. Technology has grown from some devices and platforms we use to an entire environment in which we function.” Mr. Rushkoff is the author of one of my favorite futures books “Team Human” which is a must-read in my opinion (I especially love the audiobook which he reads). The article is a robust re-centering (as is his speciality) in the future of humans in this world…and how we get back to a vision of the future in which people, cooperation and community are the drivers.

It appears that the White House has come out with some new AI principles – these authors suggest they won’t work. Check it out – important and urgent. Note: Big thumbs up to Amy Webb’s book “The Big Nine” which I reviewed earlier in this space related to this topic – creative and empowering .

Why do we gender AI? These authors break it down...and change is coming.

Overview and analysis of the complexities of the coming “digital ID” centered world. Promising convenience and efficiency – it has a host of predictable an unpredictable risks. As always, I’m asking – how will this impact the most vulnerable? Some discussion of this in this article. Along those lines, another article explores the coming “digital welfare state.” Are social workers and human rights folks involved in the design and implementation of these systems? Not enough…so much work to be done. Pay attention to this space as a major cause of concern for well being and justice in the years to come.

Here’s a nice brief piece about algorithmic justice and the need to keep continual watch and invest democratic energy in oversight and regulation to keep AI ethical in the years to come.

The Future of Our Economy

We know the one we have isn’t working so well – at least as seen by most social workers and the communities they serve. I’m always interested in new ideas about what economic evolution that is human and equity centered might look like. This article goes there…it is an inspiring and thought provoking read.

The Future of Mental Health

How can tech help to address a global mental health crisis? This article answers that question. More social workers need to get in on this conversation. I believe we can be ethical and effective in these spaces…but we have to get in there and participate on purpose. More on this topic here. At this point, I’m neither a promoter or naysayer about these types of tools, but I do feel quite sure we have a lot to learn and a lot to share as futures where these ideas are accelerating and we have shortages of practitioners.

A New Chapter – a National Social Work Education Health Futures Lab!!

Thrilled to announce!!! More will be posted (and likely a website specific to this effort yet to come – but for now – please watch this space for updates!! Many thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for this opportunity!!

January 7, 2020.

Press release: Portland State University becomes new home to National Social Work Education Health Futures Lab funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Portland State University School of Social Work received a 2-year, $400,000 award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create a national Social Work Education Health Futures Lab. The lab will explore how trends in technology, climate change, geopolitical shifts and the future of work are set to impact health, social determinants of health and related social justice, equity and social work practice.

“This project has the opportunity to create a new and generative space for social work health scholars, researchers and educators nationally to prepare our profession for a rapidly changing and developing future in which new opportunities and risks co-exist to impact human flourishing,” said Principal Investigator Dr. Laura Nissen, Professor and former Dean of the School of Social Work, who is also a PSU Presidential Futures Fellow, and a Research Fellow with the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, CA. “This project can create a new network, building on the success of other related national innovation networks such as the Grand Challenges for Social Work, to co-create the future thoughtfully, equitably, and creatively.”

This project builds on ongoing work Nissen has been engaged in, exploring and inviting social workers nationally to consider futures and “foresight” methods in their practice.

With the support and endorsement of the Council on Social Work Education, the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools Work Programs and a variety of social work education leaders, this project will expand social work knowledge by training social work education leaders as futurists, organizing learning opportunities and crafting new national education standards to better prepare the field to address the opportunities and risks associated with emergent trends.

This national learning collaborative will be comprised of nominated social work education leaders across the United States who are doing cutting edge research scholarship and teaching related to issues of the future including:

The relationship of social media and technology to human health and well-being
Use of artificial intelligence in relation to health (including the exploration of algorithmic racism as well as vital problem-solving opportunities)
Geopolitical issues shifting the nature of place and identity
Power and control of individual well-being, especially with regard to vulnerable people
The impact of climate change and climate justice on human health
The future of work for marginalized populations
The access to and use of technology as a tool of power and set of health rights

“Portland State University has a long tradition of asking innovative questions and providing the leadership to partner with communities to answer them. We are excited to continue this tradition with this project — and celebrate the chance to welcome leaders from around the country to learn with us and cultivate readiness to build a more equitable and healthy world ahead,” said Interim President Dr. Stephen Percy.

Selected “fellows” will receive specially developed foresight training and coaching in futures and foresight frameworks in partnership with the Institute for the Future and will develop new platforms to elevate and amplify collective communications regarding the importance of social work educators to learn to prepare to respond thoughtfully to emergent and future challenges to a wide range of human rights and social determinants of health issues.

“Our Portland State University is proud to provide a convening space for these vitally important dialogues for our profession nationally. How will emerging trends in the world regarding human health and well being surprise, challenge and stretch us as a profession? How will our unique strength as a profession contribute to the future of well-being and health in vulnerable communities around the world? This effort will give us rare protected space and the opportunity to engage in exploration of the answers to that and many other related questions,” said PSU School of Social Work Dean Jose E. Coll.

The project will also shine a light on the ways the “future of work” might impact social workers themselves who work with social determinants of health issues, including the ways that roles, tools and methods may expand and become even more interdisciplinary and more technological in the coming years. These explorations may lead to a host of new ideas about how to best teach and prepare the next generation for effective leadership and practice in a changing world.

At Institute for the Future, Lyn Jeffery, Distinguished Fellow and Director of IFTF Foresight Essentials, said, “Social workers are building the future, one interaction at a time, through their work at the intersections of health, identity, technology, environment, and equity. IFTF is pleased to be partnering with Dr. Nissen and PSU to help shape new perspectives in social work futures education. We look forward to collaborating with the new lab as it builds the necessary tools and perspectives to overcome the limitations of ‘short-termism,’ fostering a deep bench of foresight leaders within the social work field.”

Please contact Dr. Laura Nissen for additional information at nissen@pdx.edu.

Recent Ideas from Twitter – Social Work Futures – December 26, 2019

Get personal with your future

I’m not really big on “resolutions” but I do love goals and aspirations (and goodness knows I never met a colorful marker I didn’t enjoy…LOL). Ran across this beautiful piece called “How to Do a Growth Inventory” from my friend and futurist Vanessa Mason (follow her on Twitter at @vanessamason for great ongoing futures posts!) and it reminded me about this process. After a year of big endings and transitions, my sabbatical and the start of some big new adventures…this feels particularly personal and important. It’s a more intimate side of futures work right? I’ll be jumping in to this kind of activity during these quiet winter months. Want to join me?

Regulating Big Tech

What is the right amount of latitude to use when regulating big tech? Enough to ensure human rights, privacy and social well-being but not too much so that innovation gets stifled? This article makes a pitch that we can most definitely still make it happen…let’s do that!

Your AI Doctor Will See You Now…

Here’s a thoughtful piece about the future of medicine – the pros, cons, questions and reflections that will chart this course in the coming years. Here’s another recent piece reflecting on another future trend in medicine – “hospital at home.” These ideas are reminiscent of so many ideas I heard at my recent adventure at the 2019 Exponential Medicine conference.

What Exactly is Machine Learning?

I love a good primer and consider them massively underrated. Since these forces are all around us and running through our lives…our literacies need to also expand and deepen. I found this little piece about “machine learning” and found it super helpful and interesting. Check it out! (In case you’re interested in another clarifying piece that dives into the differences between machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep learning…you might like to explore this one!) . Here’s another on the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, and another about its widespread realities now and in the coming years. Note: I have a whole page on this blog (and another page on algorithmic racism/justice) dedicated to this topic – both of which I need to revise soon. They have definitely been among the most widely visited on this blog…so I know folks around the world are curious and learning about AI and social work, mental health, health and other social service/care fields.

AI and Caregiving

Here’s a company (Cherry.AI) that has as its tagline: “The AI that cares for your loved ones.” OK, I’m listening…with a blend of curiosity, humor, concern, and (some) openness. Most agree we have a caregiving capacity crisis and it is going to be getting worse as populations age globally. Is this the solution? I see strengths in some of this, and still I worry (privacy, surveillance, control, loss of human connection, loneliness). We will be seeing more of and talking more about this kind of thing. Check it out.

5G is Coming…What Does This Mean?

Here’s another area for which there is a lot of buzz. 5G is coming, almost here and on the verge of “changing everything?” What does that mean and for whom? This article breaks it down (at least from one author’s viewpoint).

Social Work and Climate Change – New Roles!

Shout out to Teixera, Mathias and Krings (2019) for a fine piece stretching our social work thinking about new roles as we grapple with climate change and how we can focus our social work strengths in this direction. More from the archives on this topic here.

Virtual Reality – Jumping In!!!

I know that I may be late to the party – I’ve *watched* and studied VR for a while (like almost everyone) but broke down and gifted a system to my family for the holiday so we spent some of Christmas day leaning around awkwardly on the couch, saying “ooh” and “ahh” a lot while on a series of virtual adventures in nature, history and roller coasters! I GET IT. Lots of fun, here it comes and what a wild, wild ride (literally). Here’s a piece from the New Yorker that is a good one for newbies like us. Here’s another piece about more ways we’ll see this tech showing up around us in the world. This piece discusses the emerging ethics/privacy issues that VR is introducing and some ideas about how to manage them. I ended up with 200 questions/ideas about how this might work in the future of social work – and yes – that includes a lot of ground to cover in ethics. So much more to learn in this space.

Black Twitter

Here’s a most interesting piece about the history and impact of the last ten years of “Black Twitter” and some imaginings about what comes next.

Let’s Talk About Drugs

As a person who has spent much of her career working in the addictions space…two articles caught my eye about the “future” of mind-altering substances. First is a piece about psychedelics in general (and their long association with Silicon Valley). The second is a piece about a popular startup that is a nose spray device for psilocybin as well. Many are suggesting that increasing legalization and the resultant expansion of markets, practices, testing and related dialogue is on the way.

The Green New Deal

I ran across a lovely little video about the “Green New Deal” and the ways in which it could intersect a number of key issues: climate change, the economy and housing. Very well done – let’s get there in the coming years!!

How ICE Uses Social Media to Surveil and Arrest Immigrants

So many good things are possible with our social media ecosystem. This is not one of them. More to worry and be concerned about.

Water Thieves

Mad Max come to life…sadly, I fear we will see more of this. We are going to need to learn how to take care of each other and share/protect water differently in the years to come.

Nerd Alert! Data Visualization

I can’t deny I love a good infographic, chart, etc. I had an awesome time achieving a personal milestone – my first infographic – just in the last few weeks. Here’s a sharp article that dives into all the different kinds of data visualization. It’s got me inspired!! More to come in this department!! As the world gets more complicated…I think that these types of tools help us communicate more effectively and be kind to EVERYONE’S overwhelmed cognitive load!

Browse the Archive!

If you’ve enjoyed this hop around Twitter for futures topics – check out some previous posts along these lines. These are literally and intentionally a bit of a “wander” – just a variety of items that I see pop up that interest me and I think might of value to my social work, social change and/or higher education colleagues. Enjoy!

Prediction- and Trend-Palooza – (early) 2020

Futurists are not big on making “predictions.” That said, looking over all the ideas that other people have across the landscape of the economic/social/government landscape is a valuable exercise. Many of these won’t come true, or may not come true in the ways we think they will, and some will happen. Surely other things will happen that we didn’t see coming. More to the point…what is around the corner from these predictions?

I like looking at them…but I take them all with a grain of salt and a degree of skepticism. As stated earlier in this blog…they are more valuable as a collection…and I think they communicate as much or more collectively as they do individually.

These are amusing, interesting, disturbing and complex. I’ve tried to gather up a few I thought were particularly of note…but this list isn’t exhaustive at all. Offered just to begin getting our brains wrapped around the idea that 2020 is here…and new things will keep coming! (I’ll keep adding to this list in the early months of 2020 as I’m sure more will be coming!!)

Let’s learn together and use all this (and more information) that we discover and gather to build the future we want. But first – a couple of bonus pieces that stretch our creativity and reflection skills!

Here’s a fun piece that is about creating your own best future from Psychology Today – How to make the most of the time between the years (2019)

This one is also interesting – it’s an article about what we previously predicted for the year 2020 – and how well futurists did imagining what would be happening! (2019)

Predictions and Forecasts for 2020

Tech predictions for the decade ahead: What will happen by 2030? (2019)

5G is coming – what does it mean? (2019)

How AI and automation will change the way we use technology in 2020 (2019)

4 ways work will change in 2020

Government trends 2020

Trends in digital mental health 2020

2020 Strategic trends glossary for higher education

Top trends in higher education

State of mental health in America 2020

5 consumer trends in 2020

The U.S.’s top jobs in 2020 according to LinkedIn

15 AI predictions for 2020

Tech trends for 2020

Another interesting piece reflecting some history – it’s about how the social science research from 2010 to 2019 foresaw some important contemporary developments. Love a good shout out to the role of history in futures work! The 2010s featured a lot of great social science. Here are my 12 favorite studies. (2019).

This is from last year – geopolitical forecast

Navigating a world of disruption (2019)