Reports

Reports, project outcomes, articles and other documents.

Beyond consultation theatre

What genuine co-production looks like in secure forensic mental health care

What genuine co-production looks like in secure forensic mental health care
Co-production has become a central ambition in Scotland’s social care landscape. It appears in legislation, national standards, and reform programmes with a confidence that suggests consensus. Yet the settings where co-production is most needed, and most difficult, remain largely absent from the conversation: secure forensic mental health services…
Published in
Reports
on 13 Mar 2026

A professional learning ecosystem for social work in Scotland

A professional learning ecosystem for social work in Scotland
Social work is an extraordinary job rarely understood by anyone that has not been immersed in it, and the profession is regularly described as at the cusp of transformation. There are multiple challenges in supporting social workers to learn, in practice learning arrangements at the pre-qualifying stage and inconsistency in what is offered post-qualifying…
Published in
Reports
on 13 Mar 2026

No room for racism

Anti-racism survey report

Anti-racism survey report
In 2023, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) established the Social Work Anti-racism Oversight Group to lead the development of a national anti-racism action plan…
Published in
Reports
on 12 Aug 2025

The impact of Iriss 2024/25

The difference we've made

The impact of Iriss 2024/25
After a successful first year focusing on evidence-informed innovation (identifying the right thing to do) to help partners make changes, we decided to continue some of these projects, and invite more partners for 2024/25…
Published in
Reports
on 23 Jun 2025

Iriss work plan 2025/26

Our core work for the next year

Iriss work plan 2025/26
Our 2025/26 work plan, devised with feedback and input from voices across the sector. We'd like to thank everyone who contributed as well as our partner organisations that collaborated with us in the past…
Published in
Reports
on 23 Jun 2025

Chief Social Work Officers Annual Report Summary 2023/24

CSWO annual summary report

This summary report provides an analysis and overview of the Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) 2023-2024 Annual Reports. These annual reports are based around a reporting template and give a general overview of the social work landscape in Scotland.

The CSWO Annual Reports are a means of reporting to Councils on the delivery of social work services in their area, highlighting key activities, developments, and challenges. 

Published in
Reports
on 25 Mar 2025

Iriss work plan 2024/25

Our core work for the next year

Work plan documents in a stack
This year we will continue our core work of helping create the conditions for great social work and social care support to flourish. Our work plan was devised with feedback and input from voices across the sector…
Published in
Reports
on 19 Aug 2024

The impact of Iriss 2023/24

The difference we've made

The impact of Iriss 2023/24
While planning the work for 2023/24, we saw that there’s plenty of support for improvement (doing something better) in social work and social care support but a lack of dedicated focus on evidence-informed innovation…
Published in
Reports
on 19 Aug 2024

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