Blog

Light up sign reading 'FOCUS'

Finding a Focus

Monday 14 April 2025

Project planning is full of decisions to make. What partners do you need? What will success look like? How responsive can your plan be to new information?

Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements

a leaf at the end of a branch in the sun

Practitioner Research with NQSWs: Inspiration from practice

Wednesday 2 April 2025
Recently we were invited back to North Ayrshire to meet some Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) and talk about practitioner research. This was a follow up to a session we ran in 2023 where we…
Reimagining social work practice
an ampitheatre audience

Launching a new resource for third sector social work student placements

Tuesday 18 March 2025
We’ve been quiet on the Voices & Visions blog updates recently while we’ve been working away on developing our new resource to support social work student placements in third sector organisations…
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
a historic bridge in verdant settings reflected in the rivers surface

Reflections on the MHO Conference 2025

Tuesday 4 March 2025
On February 25th, we had the opportunity to attend and present at the Mental Health Officer (MHO) Conference, Reigniting Our Resilience: Informing and Future-Proofing the MHO Workforce, held at The
Big picture
an external view ofedinburgh flats

An update from the Hoarding Taskforce

Monday 17 February 2025
2025 has started at a fast pace with Hoarding Taskforce activities.
Supporting people who hoard
a white board behind a meeting table with chairs and stationary

What did we learn from our Learning Week?

Wednesday 12 February 2025
Learning Week is over at Iriss now.
Inside Iriss
an acoustic guitar

Evaluation - Invisible String

Tuesday 11 February 2025
As part of our learning week we had a day where we focused on our internal evaluation process, as well as how we can better use the data we already collect to show our impact to partners and…
Inside Iriss
a train crosses a river reflected in the waters seurface

Exploring the intersections of our work 

Tuesday 11 February 2025
In a fast-paced environment, the instinct can be to act quickly, but without a shared understanding of where we have been, we could move in directions that are not fully aligned or as effective as
Inside Iriss
bench

Making Time 

Tuesday 11 February 2025
As a Development Lead with Iriss, I spend a lot of time thinking about time.
Inside Iriss
danelion head

Ethical Commissioning Support for Commissioners Group

Wednesday 27 November 2024
Following the recommendations by the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, the Scottish Government
Ethical commissioning programme
Image of a sparkler

Narratives, problem rehearsal and the implementation gap

Monday 25 November 2024
The social services and social care system is complex and we face enormous challenges including a lack of resources, squeezed budgets, burnt-out staff and moral distress.
Big picture
from acorns to trees

Developing peer support: from acorns to trees

Thursday 21 November 2024
Last year we worked with Future Pathways, Voices for a Better Future and the Scottish Recovery Network to look at how we might co-design peer support for care survivors supported by Future Pathways
Co-designing peer support: future pathways
plastic pyramids

Developing national guidance for Large Scale Investigations

Tuesday 19 November 2024
Large Scale Investigations – or LSIs – can be a knotty issue for all involved. LSIs are a specific type of Adult Support and Protection intervention that is triggered when there’s more than one adult…
Projects
Sunlight shining into a woodland. Person with long hair in a ponytail facing the light and lifting their arms up towards it.

Great expectations: social work student perspectives on placements

Monday 18 November 2024
“I wanted that first placement to be something that I would be like ‘okay is social work the right career for me, is this the right job for me?"  - Reflection from an early career social w
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
picture of a bell

Ringing Bells

Thursday 14 November 2024
Earlier this month, as part of a project we are working on in the ethical commissioning space, we met with a team of care home managers.
Foundations for change
a seedling sprouting from moss

Integrating tools from Deep Democracy in Adult Social Work: Reflections on Safety and Connection

Wednesday 6 November 2024
Since my colleague and I started working with a local authority adult social work team, it’s been inspiring to see the team’s dedication and thoughtful approach to making a difference in their serv
Foundations for change
Paper with plan written at the top

Ready, prep, go!

Monday 14 October 2024
There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing to host a social work student on placement in a third sector organisation, from communicating with universities, meeting with students and their tutor
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
hoarding task force icon

Launch of a hoarding taskforce

Monday 9 September 2024
Iriss is working with a mix of strategic and local partners to co-design a better and more joined up approach across Scotland to hoarding…
Supporting people who hoard
Creating Care Partnerships project mini logo

Research alongside social care practice

Tuesday 27 August 2024
Back in 2009, I was a fresh faced researcher, working as an intern in the Office of the Chief Researcher in the Scottish Government.
Inside Iriss
this must be the place

The Value

Friday 23 August 2024
Having been working on Voice and Visions for nearly six months, it is safe to say we have heard a lot about the third sector social work student placement world; from third sector representatives,
Voices and visions: collaborating for improved third sector social work student placements
a green door with a bicycle

Why should I care about ethical commissioning?

Monday 19 August 2024
“What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is if they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Michael ‘The…
Inside Iriss
Subscribe to Blog

© 2006–2025 Iriss, all rights reserved.
The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (Iriss) is a charitable company limited by guarantee.
Registered in Scotland: No 313740. Scottish Charity No: SC037882. Registered Office: 5 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh. EH2 4AN