Circulation of knowledge in social work. The need for creative navigation between perspectives

This article examines the variation in perspectives presented by actors within and around Swedish social services when discussing knowledge from scientific research and professional experience. Drawing on 30 focus groups with social workers, managers, local politicians, user organizations, universities, R&D units, and national knowledge-governing bodies, the study highlights the differing perspectives and roles of these actors. Social workers prioritize experience-based knowledge, developed from a scientific base, through reflection, interaction, and practical engagement, while managers and politicians also demand measurability. National knowledge-governing bodies focus on knowledge as information, whereas universities, R&D units, and user organizations recognize experiential and practice-based knowledge, as well as the importance of individual needs and user perspectives. Two central tensions underpin knowledge development in social services. First, the distinction between knowledge and information highlights that knowledge is acquired, integrated, and continually developed, rather than merely transmitted. Second, actors outside practice often aim to ‘provide’ knowledge, which can undervalue practitioners’ existing expertise and reduce knowledge to information. Knowledge is dynamic and circulates through negotiation, reflection, and interaction, a process conceptualized as knowledge in transit. The study further highlights creativity as essential for knowledge development and argues for a discretionary practice that enables collaborative exploration, refinement, and integration of ideas across actors so knowledge from different perspectives can support each other. Future research should explore how creative ways of working for knowledge circulation can be implemented within complex organizational settings.