Walking the Talk: Accentuating the Embeddedness of SDGs in Social Work Practice

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted on September 25, 2015, during the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit in New York. However, the UN General Assembly adopted the global indicator framework only on July 6th 2017. The document "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" marked the adoption of the SDGs as a global commitment to addressing a wide range of social, economic and environmental challenges by 2030.

The initial framework had 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 unique indicators. The defining criteria for SDG are the goals - broad and aspirational statement that outlines a desired outcome and represents a fundamental area of sustainable development. Conversely, a target is a more specific and measurable subgoal contributing to achieving the broader goal. Each goal is accompanied by a set of targets that provide more precise directions for action, time-bound and quantifiable, helping to focus efforts and monitor progress. An indicator is a further quantifiable measure to track progress towards achieving a specific target, thus providing data-based evidence of fulfilment of the target, and assess the extent to which the intended outcomes are realised and guide decision-making. However, 36 significant changes to the global indicator framework for SDGs were approved and adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 51st session on March 6th 2020, in New York. These changes were based on the 2020 comprehensive review conducted by the UN Interagency Expert Group (IAEG-SDGs) on SDG indicators and presented to the UNSC on the first day of the 3-day session . Thus, the revised global framework now has 231 indicators, all of which drive the social work agenda too.

Social workers engage with systems and structures by grounding themselves in professional values. This enables them to understand interwoven realities and undertake holistic interventions across multiple entry points encompassing individuals, families, groups, communities, organisations and societies. This fluidity provides diverse vantage points for enacting change, complemented by a range of methods tailored to context. Social worker's cyclical interleaved approach acknowledges ever-evolving contexts to leverage a continuum of interventions ranging from working with individuals to societies, networks and polity. Social work practice is adaptive in nature rather than responding in the form of episodic intervention. It thrives on co-creating solutions alongside clients and communities. Embracing diversity involves unlearning biases and being open while social workers strategically address issues in systems, structures and cultural norms.

An attempt has been made to map how social work actions and interventions cut across all the SDGs. The work done by a community-based organisation (CBO), named VVFT, in a low-income neighbourhood has been illustrated to demonstrate the inherent nature of social work interventions to respond holistically.

Social work typically uses inquiry to co-create answers with the client or communities. The training and unlearning that fosters openness to diversity enables Social workers to address issues maintained by systems, structures and cultural norms. For example, a person with a disability feels 'inadequate' because of inaccessible structures, lack of timely vaccinations, and stigmatising 'gaze' of people, posing attitudinal barriers leading to exclusion and discrimination. It is the same mindset that 'others' people with disability also discriminates against people based on divisive factors such as gender, class, religion, caste, sexual orientation, etc. Sharma (2017:222) says this mindset stems from a rigid, scarcity-based mindset driven by egoism. It is possible to interrupt discriminatory processes when social workers act from universal values and values of the profession to develop strategies that interrupt such divisive forces and generate results. Given the pan micro-macro lens, diverse perspectives, and skills that social workers are equipped with, it is possible to strategically shift such discriminatory ideologies and practices using the methods of social work.

It is as important to work with systems as it is with people, and hence, the methods of social work provide that fluidity and flexibility to bring about change. To illustrate, VVFT, used social work methods of working with individuals, families, organisations and communities to break the stigma related to disability. Advocacy initiatives with schools and prospective employers enabled the co-creating of job opportunities for persons with disabilities. Thereby for individuals with disabilities, social workers dismantle this divisive force by embodying universal and professional values when facing discrimination. Their skills and perspectives enable shifts in discriminatory ideologies, effectively employing social work methods across micro-macro levels. The versatility of social work methods extends to systemic interventions. The example of VVFT showcases a transformation achieved through engagement at various levels. Social workers, fluidity facilitated the breaking of the stigma around disability and fostering advocacy in schools and workplaces to co-create job opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Sustainability emerges as a dynamic process, not merely an outcome in SDG social work becomes a dynamic force for change, unravelling complexity and fostering lasting impact .

Table 1: Social Work Interventions in the Context of SDGs

Source: Authors

SDG SW Practice

While the primary engagement of SDGs happens to be outcome-oriented, social workers engage with SDGs as a process and hence realise 'the sustainability' in the 'development goals'. Essentially, the MEAL Framework [monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning], applied mainly in development projects, humanitarian aid and organisational learning, is the primary evaluative tool for SDGs. While this frame for project and program management is aligned to ensure effective implementation, has a focus on continuous assessment and learning within the program, it ensures that projects are on track, aligned with objectives to evaluate effectiveness and has scope to incorporate lessons learnt for improvement, it is a flawed tool. Some experts feel that the GROW model [Goal, Reality, Options, and Way Forward], developed for coaching and personal development, needs to be integrated into SDG evaluative frameworks as it focuses on goal setting and problem-solving through conversations. It primarily facilitates goal-setting, problem-solving, and action planning; it focuses on personal growth, exploring possibilities, and achieving goals. This model guides individuals through a structured process of setting goals, assessing reality, generating options, and planning the way forward, if scaled, it would ensure due focus on each person rather than just the final cumulative goal.

The authors propose a GAP-REMOVAL model [Goal, Accountability, Progress, Reality and Responsibility, Evaluation with Empathy, Maintaining Accountability, Viable Strategies and Learning] developed in their work.

Table 2: GAP-REMOVAL Model

Source: Authors

The above model helps to contextualise yet universalise the accountability to SDG's, while showcasing how social work challenges common assumptions and calls for a nuanced analysis in the context of SDGs and beyond. Social work emerges as a critical practice to decode these complexities. Social workers address disparities, collaborate across sectors and ensure no one is left behind in SDG efforts. Social work bridges the gaps and steers progress towards holistic development by understanding paradoxical trends. A compelling effort has emerged to illustrate how social work interventions intersect with all sustainable development goals; we witness the inherent holistic nature of social work interventions by a CBO operating in a low-income neighbourhood. This approach underscores systems and structures as interconnected, necessitating comprehensive responses.

Conclusion

The synergy of the whole systems perspectives for processes and outcomes (giving primacy to both) using a critical approach is imperative in social work training. While human travails are pervasive, strategies to deal with them require context and cultural sensitivity; the GAP-REMOVAL model is versatile to respond to such diverse needs. This model rests on the values of the profession and derives strategies that generate responsible solutions that are enduring. Emerging social work professionals shoulder the mantle of transformation in keeping with the key principles of respecting the diversity of life, caring for the community with compassion and love, building just, participatory and peaceful societies, and securing the earth for the present and future generations.

References

Engl M, Binns P, Trehan I, Lelijveld N, Angood C, McGrath M, Groce N and Kerac M. (2022). Children living with disabilities are neglected in severe malnutrition protocols: A guideline review. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 107 (7), 637-643. Accessed from Children living with disabilities are neglected in severe malnutrition protocols: a guideline review (bmj.com) on 15 August 2023.
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) (2010). Mumbai Human Development Report. Oxford University Press: New Delhi. Sharma M. 2017. Radical transformational leadership: Strategic action for change agents, Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books. M