A similar conclusion was reached by Dutch researchers who had worked on a project starting with the intention of applying EBP in a study of the interventions used by community workers.
#LEVELS OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE PROFESSIONAL#
For example, the Nederlandse Vereniging van Maatschappelijk Werkers (, National Association of Social Workers) in its professional profile mentions that there is very little opportunity in the Netherlands to choose interventions with scientific evidence of their effectiveness, because a lot is still to be done in this field (NVMW, 2011). Also in 2008, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science decided to fund a new master of social work (MSW) program for two universities of applied sciences which aims to create new professionals who focus on the effectiveness of interventions and accountability of the profession ( HBO-raad/Vereniging Hogescholen, 2006 Van Pelt, 2011).ĭespite these initiatives of policy makers and educators to improve and facilitate EBP in social work, the extent of social work practitioner acceptance of and engagement in EBP is still cause for skepticism, based on the criticisms of social workers and scholars regarding the feasibility and usefulness of EBP in social work. This national project was launched by Movisie (the Netherlands Centre for Social Development) to encourage and facilitate the use of research knowledge in social work practice by making available at no cost information about the effectiveness of frequently used social interventions in an online database. In 2008, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport commissioned the 5-year project effective social interventions to improve the use of research knowledge in social work. For the last decade or so, the Dutch government, local authorities, and funding bodies are demanding more accountability and effectiveness in social work, which has led to increasing attention for EBP as a means of professionalization in social work ( Steyaert, Van Den Biggelaar, & Peels, 2010). Also, in many northern European countries, including the Netherlands, social workers are now increasingly being urged by policy makers to engage in EBP. Since its introduction into the social work profession by Gambrill (1999) and Macdonald (1998), evidence-based practice (EBP) has become increasingly influential in social work, particularly in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
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