The Social Work Innovation Lab: A Dynamic Framework for Co-Creating Transformative Solutions to Complex Social Problems

Social work practice routinely navigates complex challenges spanning interconnected systems, often constrained by established structures that impede equitable care. Meeting these challenges requires not only creativity and cross-sector collaboration, but also space for bold experimentation, learning, and innovation. Social workers must be equipped to develop, test, and scale new approaches that disrupt the status quo and advance systems-level change. The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at Boston University School of Social Work has developed the Social Work Innovation Lab (SWInn Lab) as a strategic response to these complexities, aligned with our theory of change to "supercharge innovation in social work research, training, and practice to build social work and collective power for influence on the political agenda for health equity worldwide." Launched in December 2023, the SWInn Lab is developing a purposeful hybrid space designed to strengthen social workers’ capacity to tackle complex social challenges through community-driven innovation. Envisioned as an incubator for ideas and action, the Lab will serve as a place where identity- and place-based communities can come for collaborative consultation and pro bono support. Lab partnerships will empower communities to identify root causes of persistent, proximally defined problems and co-create bold, innovative solutions. Ultimately, the SWInn Lab aims to advance social justice by shaping practice, policy, and research in bringing together diverse perspectives, shifting power dynamics, and guiding collective problem-solving in new and transformative ways. Currently in Phase II of development, our Lab team is co-creating core components through an iterative process that challenges conventional approaches. This workshop will provide attendees with insights into three key aspects of the SWInn Lab: 1. Conceptual Framework and Strategic Value: We will discuss the integration of the SWInn Lab within CISWH's field-building ecosystem, demonstrating how it complements the Health Equity Research Lab, the Global Social Work & Public Health Lab, and the Powerbuilding & Leadership Lab to create synergies between learning, training, research, and practice. Through this session, participants will understand how innovation labs can bridge gaps between researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and communities. 2. Process and Methodology: We will share our intentional approach to lab development centered around tools and methods such as rapid prototyping, systems thinking, and futures thinking. Participants will gain insights from profiles of successful innovation labs, including in-depth interviews with innovation lab leaders informing our lab building process. 3. Practical Applications and Early Learnings: Participants will explore potential applications of an innovation lab approach to their own work supported by case examples. We will highlight our learnings thus far in creating an environment that cultivates comfort with emergence, co-leaning, co-design, and that normalizes community-building practices to foster intentional dialogue across diverse areas of expertise. This interactive workshop will engage participants in abbreviated lab activities that demonstrate how innovation spaces can transform traditional social work approaches. Attendees will understand practical frameworks to support innovative thinking in their own settings while learning how innovation lab methods can align social work science with policy and practice to address complex social challenges in transformative ways.