Singapore, 2026

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Denmark, 2023

The 2023 international conference on practice research was hosted by Aalborg University in Denmark with a focus on the role of service users as major stakeholders in the conduct of practice research that reinforces their sense of agency in modern societies. It gave attention to collaboration as a central theme of practice research with special attention to power relations, communications, change, and democratization.

Australia, 2021

This conference was a pioneer in its form due to the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic meaning instead of being hosted in 2020 as planned, our first online conference was launched in 2021.  The outcomes of this conference importantly included the establishment of this website and our practice research collaboratives. The Melbourne Statement builds upon a rich history of international dialogue devoted to developing the art and science of practice research. 

China, 2017

This statement on social work practice research highlights the contributions of scholars, practitioners, and conference participants in the Fourth International Conference on Practice Research in 2017. It focuses on the contexts and challenges of carrying out practice research in the Far East and beyond as well as raises pertinent questions about the development of practice research. 

United States, 2014

The New York statement emerged out of the international conference in New York City (2014) and continues the construction of the social science and social philosophy foundation of practice research. It seeks to expand the dialogue on practice research to include more international voices while also searching for linkages with the evolving process of defining the mixed methods approach to evidence-informed practice. 

Finland, 2012

Since 2008, there have been many changes in the practice of social work and social work research as well as in the social structures underpinning social welfare. In 2012, a group of social work researchers met in Helsinki to re-examine the developments in practice research and update the Salisbury Statement. 

England, 2008

The first international conference at Salisbury, England grew out of a 2007 regional conference on practice research in Helsinki, Finland. In 2008 the Southampton Practice Research Initiative Network Group (SPRING) in Salisbury, UK began mapping questions such as ‘how is professional practice to be researched better, to provide a basis for improved practice?’ The following statement aims to begin tracing the contours of practice research as it continues to evolve and promotes continued discussion. The origins of practice research in social work can be traced back to the Transforming Social Work Practice, Education and Inquiry conference in Finland in 2007. It started as a small gathering of participants aiming to improve the connection between practice and research.