STRONGER SOCIAL FABRIC
Network
Leadership
NETWORK CO-LEADS
Brendan Beal, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Montevallo
bbeal@montevallo.edu
Stephanie Berzin, PhD
Dean
Simmons University
stephanie.berzin@simmons.edu
Claudia Coulton, PhD
Distinguished University Professor
Case Western Reserve University
claudia.coulton@case.edu
Shari Miller, PhD
Associate Dean
University of Georgia
semiller@uga.edu
Melanie Sage, PhD
Assistant Professor
University at Buffalo
msage@buffalo.edu
Jonathan Singer, PhD
Associate Professor
Loyola University Chicago
jsinger1@luc.edu
LOOKING BACK
Over the past five years, members of the Grand Challenge to Harness Technology for
Social Good and their colleagues have:
• Authored working papers on harnessing big
data in social work and innovating social
work practice through the integration of
technology
• Articulated and advocated for policy
recommendations including:
1. Expanding internet connectivity for
underserved households
2. Unlocking government data to drive
solutions to social problems
3. Opening the possibility of social work
practice across state lines
• Hosted a six-part webinar series
covering such topics as telemental health,
thanatechnology, and digital mapping
as well as a special webinar on COVID -19,
"Leading in a time of crisis"
• Participated in Project Connect, an initiative
of the University of Washington School of
Social Work for "social work students to gain
valuable experience by working with local
agencies to support vulnerable populations
impacted by the COVID -19 crisis"
• Hosted a conference, sponsored by the
University of Southern California, on social
work and technology
• Published numerous articles and a
book, "Teaching Social Work with Digital
Technology," which aims to help "educators
make pedagogically sound, rational, practical,
and ethical decisions about integrating
technology into their social work programs"
• Advised their colleagues and students of
social work, both formally and informally,
including several DSW students from
USC whose final projects were focused on
technology, including resource website
and apps
• Developed SWVirtualPal, a social media
platform for social workers, as part of their
work with iHeartTech, the Institute for Healthy
Engagement and Resilience with Technology
• Discussed the implications of artificial
intelligence for the field of social work in
light of COVID -19 in The Social Work Podcast,
hosted by network co-lead Jonathan Singer
• Pioneered novel applications of virtual
reality to social work education at the
University of Utah and Ball State University
LOOKING AHEAD
Over the next five years, Harness Technology for Social Good network members and
their colleagues will work toward the following objectives:
• Provide feedback on the Technology
Advisory Group of the Council on Social
Work Education
• Conduct and publish a first-of-its-kind,
rigorous, comprehensive review of the
scholarly literature around social work and
technology published between 2015 and
2019. This peer-reviewed publication will
provided a better understanding of the state
of the science around these issues
• Engage in policy-related efforts around
the "digital divide," which has become more
striking in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic
• Collaborate with all of the Grand Challenge
networks to identify creative, effective
uses of technology to address issues in each
challenge area
An Impact Report at Year 5 of the 10-Year Initiative | 25