BASW Interim CEO, Professor Sam BaronWe want to engage with all our members, future members and key stakeholders who are part of the UK social work landscape.
What was the Big Conversation?
From December 2025 - March 2026 BASW created numerous opportunities to bring the social work community together to share ideas and views about where we want the profession to be in the next 5-10 years.
It also allowed social workers to tell us what they want to see from their professional association. We work for you, with you, side by side.
While we listen all year round, a dedicated initiative such as this is important for stimulating wider discussion. This isn’t just about you talking to us, but also to one and another. And importantly, it's about strengthening our collective voice at a time of change and turbulence for social workers and those we support.
What happens now?
We're currently collating all the feedback we received through numerous avenues - including an online survey, discussion groups, social media polls, and via open channels.
We’ve valued all the feedback we’ve received – thank you to everyone across the UK who has taken part and given their time generously to speak to us.
You’ve spoken, and we’re listening. The next steps are translating your views into tangible action.
As part of our recent World Social Work Day programme, we hosted an event to explore some of the early findings and discuss what changes BASW will adopt on the back of them. You can watch the event back below.
We are currently developing our five-year plan for BASW, which will incorporate the findings from The Big Conversation, and will be published later this year. In the meantime, many of the shorter-term suggestions will be put into practice over the coming weeks and months, which we will keep you updated on.
Our door is always open!
The Big Conversation might have closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to engage with us. In fact, we want to keep hearing from you!
BASW works for you, with you, side by side all year round. That means we depend upon your voice, engagement and direction to shape our priorities and help us to best represent your needs and interests.
Some ways you can help us include:
- Contact us directly with your views
- Engage with us on social media – we’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and YouTube
- If you’re a BASW member, join a group, network, local branch or a committee
- And if you're not a BASW member yet, what are you waiting for? View our membership categories and great reasons to join
And once again, thank you! We hope you found the Big Conversation useful, and we’re excited to turn over the next chapter at BASW with you!
