Social work is a profession committed to advancing the basic human needs of all people, especially those who are marginalized, oppressed, and living in poverty . As such, we are compelled to identify social problems and create solutions. The development of the Grand Challenges for Social Work has helped to galvanize our profession and focus our efforts on 13 broad social areas, that when addressed, help to promote our mission and advance human flourishing.

Since 2016 social work researchers and practitioners have engaged in numerous innovative projects to address the Grand Challenges. However, more progress is required. Social problems like racism and isolation tend to be persistent and evolve with societal changes. Technology is advancing rapidly which makes it increasingly difficult for social workers to prevent and respond to the myriad of ethical concerns that emerge with every technological advancement.

The Grand Challenges serve as an effective compass to direct our attention to society’s most pressing social problems. However, we have lacked a comprehensive framework to serve as the roadmap for developing sustainable solutions that are consistent with our professional values. The faculty of the Doctor of Social Work program at California Baptist University have sought to fill this gap by presenting a novel framework designed to help both new and seasoned social workers identify specific social problems and partner with communities to create socially innovative solutions.

The Community Engagement and Social Innovation (CESI) Model (pronounced ses-see model) is an eight-phase framework to help us systematically tackle the Grand Challenges of Social Work. It incorporates best practices and literature from social work and other disciples (e.g. public health and public policy) that focus on community-based practice and research to present a novel method for identifying, collaborating, and innovating for social good.

For more information about the Grand Challenges visit https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/