3rd Annual FORWARD THINKING SUMMIT
Hope in the Midst of Polycrisis: Social Work Leaders Pioneering Change
September 12-13, 2024 - Virtual
Pre-Conference - September 11, 2024: Candidates for Certified Social Work Manager™ Credential ONLY
Post-Conference - September 26-27, 2024: Selected Doctoral Scholars Institute participants Only (Organizers will register students for Summit & DSI)
Call for Proposals
In times of crisis, our unity, resilience, and commitment to social work illuminate the path to an equitable future. The Forward Thinking Summit will instill in you the belief that change is possible during crisis and offer practical and intentional tips for the future. Engage with us in addressing these challenging times head-on, and together, we can pioneer a bright future for social work, turning hope into reality.
The summit theme, "Hope in the Midst of Polycrisis: Social Work Leaders Pioneering Change," is a timely reminder that regardless of the multi-faceted challenges we face, there is always HOPE that paves the way for innovative solutions. This summit will delve deep into our 4 Human Service Management Competency domains: Executive Leadership, Strategic Management, Resource Management, and Community Collaborations, to effectively lead organizations through crisis. We are interested in receiving proposals from scholars, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students for showcasing knowledge, values, and skills that are relevant and critical for our stakeholders to learn and discern from as they grow in their professional careers. Descriptors for each of the four tracks are given below.
What is a polycrisis?
The Cascade Institute's discussion paper argues that the "concept of global polycrisis provides a necessary and productive framework to understand and address major problems afflicting humanity today. A global polycrisis occurs when crises in multiple global systems become causally entangled in ways that significantly degrade humanity’s prospects. These interacting crises produce harms greater than the sum of those the crises would produce in isolation, were their host systems not so deeply interconnected." <Link to Full Paper>
Require: Contact details, Title, 50 word Abstract, 500 word Proposal
All Accepted Presenters are required to pay & register for the summit
$200 Early bird by August 15, 2024
$250 from August 16, 2024
Summit Tracks
Track 1: Executive Leadership - "Trauma-Informed Leadership"
This track is essential for leaders who guide their teams to compassionately and effectively amidst external turmoil. Sessions will address fostering a workplace culture of empathy and resilience, integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the core of organizational operations, and managing vicarious trauma. The focus will be on equipping leaders with the skills to maintain a supportive environment that acknowledges the impact of the world's challenges on staff well-being. This track will focus on leading with empathy and understanding in the wake of collective traumas. This approach equips leaders to support a workforce impacted by societal crises, fostering a culture prioritizing mental health and resilience. The track will guide participants in integrating trauma awareness into leadership styles, policy development, and organizational culture, ensuring a supportive environment where staff and clients feel valued and understood. Leaders will learn to navigate and mitigate the effects of trauma, promoting healing and growth within their organizations.
Track 2: Strategic Management - "Crisis Leadership and Communication"
In times of crisis, strategic leadership becomes crucial. This track will delve into developing crisis leadership competencies and creating robust crisis communication plans. This track centers on honing crisis leadership and mastering communication. It equips leaders with strategies for decisive action, fostering a culture of preparedness, and implementing effective crisis response. The sessions will delve into crafting transparent communication channels, developing anticipatory risk management plans, and leading teams through adversity with clarity and confidence. Participants will learn to navigate the complexities of crisis scenarios with strategic foresight and articulate a vision that aligns teams and resources toward common recovery goals.
Track 3: Resource Management - "Leveraging a Multi-Resource Approach to Managing Polycrisis"
In polycrisis resource management, social work leaders must consider multi-source funding agility, crisis-responsive budgeting, and adaptive human resource strategies. They must build robust information systems for real-time data tracking, cultivate digital literacy, and foster cross-sector resource networks. Emphasizing ethical technology use and ensuring equitable access to services are paramount. Leaders must also prioritize staff well-being, offering training for resilience in the face of mounting social challenges and preparing teams for versatile, rapid-response scenarios.
Track 4: Community Collaboration – Utilizing a holistic approach to Polycrisis.
This track covers partnership development, community engagement, interdisciplinary approaches, advocacy for policy change, resource sharing, conflict resolution, capacity building, evaluative practices, and strategies for sustainability. This holistic approach ensures that diverse voices shape resilient systems, advocacy influences policy, shared resources optimize impact, conflicts are navigated constructively, organizations grow stronger, outcomes are assessed for continuous improvement, and collaborations endure to face future crises effectively.
Proposal Formats
Workshops (60 minutes): Workshops are designed to introduce the audience to strategies, methods, skills, or practice orientations that align with the organization's mission and summit theme. Workshops may include demonstrations and time for skill practice and acquisition. Priority will be given to Action Workshops that clearly state the outcomes and desired actions needed to achieve these outcomes.
Panel (60 minutes): The panel format is suggested for sessions where a diversity of experts explore an emerging issue, including the technical, operational, or legal features of an issue. Panels are also an effective way to compare and contrast the various positions of several main actors. In the panel format, several speakers or subject matter experts provide opening remarks on a question and then address questions from the moderator. Small panels (a maximum of 5 speakers) are preferred to increase audience participation. Time should be allowed for questions/comments from the audience.
Individual Papers (30 minutes): These are 25-minute presentations, with 5 additional minutes for questions and discussion. Presentations on similar topics will be paired, so each session will include two sets of presentations. Multiple presenters may present a paper but must do so within the time allotted. Please only include those who will attend the summit as presenters.
Impact Talks: Impact Talks are 15-minute pre-recorded forward-thinking talks inspired by the TED Talks format. They will occur at scheduled times, with the authors present to discuss their work. Each Impact Talk should focus on your vision for transforming the workplace of the future from a leadership perspective. An Impact Talk can only be given by ONE person. No exceptions.
*In your proposal application, please indicate if you are willing to present your material in an alternative format if it is not accepted for the selected presentation format.
Co-Host
Doctoral Students Instititute
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