IASSW PROGRAMME CONSULTATION
Operational Guidelines for Peer Consultations

AimThe IASSW aims to promote the development and expansion of social work education, inaccordance with its mission statement and based on peer consultation. IASSW Programme
Consultations are one manifestation of this aim.
Preamble

The IASSW receives request for support and guidance in developing or revising social work
curricula and educational programmes from local, regional and national organisations. In order torespond to such requests the following guidelines have been drawn up by the IASSW Education
Committee to outline the limits and extent of IASSW Programme Consultations, and the ethical andpractical processes involved. Every IASSW Programme Consultation will be subject to scrutiny andfeedback from all stakeholders; the feedback will inform changes to the guidance.
The strengths the IASSW brings to the Consultation process are:•••the capacity to constitute a globally diverse team of consultants, representing different
approaches and educational institutions;the use of globally agreed standards alongside the standards of the national organisations
or educational institutions;
Extensive experience, through its membership, in delivering and promoting high quality
social work education.

The role of the IASSW• The IASSW has no role or contribution to make in Higher Education validation processes or
to any professional accreditation activities;• Support is only offered in response to requests, in the manner outlined below;• To offer informed discussion and feedback as collaborative ‘critical friends’ of the hostorganisations;• To engage in IASSW Programme Consultations in the spirit of partnership with due
attention to cultural, linguistic and other differences;• To operate with due care and attention with regards to the defining statements of theIASSW and IFSW: The Global Standards for the Education and Training of the Social Work
Profession, The Definition of Social Work, the Ethics in Social Work: Statement of Principles
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and in the spirit of The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Commitment
to Action (IASSW/IFSW/ICSW 2012).
Eligibility for consideration•All institutional members of IASSW are eligible to apply for an IASSW ProgrammeConsultation;•Requests by non-members may be considered at the discretion of the IASSW President, incollaboration with the Education Committee. Non-members would be considered on
condition that they join IASSW upon completion of the consultation;

Guiding principles for the IASSW and Schools/Organisation(s)Prior to the Consultation the Applicant will:ooo

present a formal request for a IASSW Programme Consultation to the President ofIASSW, outlining the reasons and aims and identifying a lead person who will takeresponsibility for coordinating communication with the IASSW Consultation Team;Engage in dialogue with the IASSW Consultation Team about the stakeholders fortheir ‘Local Consultative Team’ with the aim of making representation as wide aspossible. Normally stakeholders would include management, teaching staff,administrators, students , field instructors, service agency representatives andwhere possible service users’ and carers’ and any others identified by the university
or social work organisation;
Conduct a self-assessment, through the ‘Local Consultative Team’, based on theGlobal Standards for Education and Training of the Social Work Profession. This selfassessment should be sent to the IASSW Consultation Team lead at least 30 days
before the proposed visit along with relevant documentation.

Prior to the Consultation IASSW will, following acceptance of the application:ooo

identify one or two persons who will take responsibility for coordinating
communication between the IASSW Consultation Team and the localorganisation/school;
form a Consultation Team, via the Education Committee, normally consisting of atleast three members;
Choose members of the team to respond to the specific local and regionalrequirements as set out by the local organisations. The Consultation team would
aim to include expertise and cultural knowledge relevant to the setting;2

ooInclude at least one IASSW board member to be part of the Consultation Team. Ifpossible, the member will have relevant cultural knowledge and expertise of thecountry being visited and will be selected from the same region. No more than one
member will be from any one country;
Members of the Consultation Team will receive the self-assessment exercise 30 days
before a visit in order to familiarise themselves with the existing provision, and theaims for the Consultation.

During the Consultation:ooooooThe Global Standards for Education and Training of the Social Work Profession will beused as the primary benchmark for conducting IASSW Consultations;The ‘Local Consultative Team’ will lead the arrangements for the visit in order toensure that it meets local needs. This will be done in consultation with the IASSW
Consultation Team before the visit.
The IASSW Consultation Team will aim to empower the ‘Local Consultative Team’ inidentifying progress and solutions towards their own stated mission and goals. This
may include the provision of information drawn from other parts of the world inorder to stimulate discussion towards their stated goals and to meet the Global
Standards for Education and Training criteria;
The consultation process will respect local culture and will sensitively address
challenges and any conflicts between local culture and the Global Standards for
Education and Training of the Social Work and Ethics in Social Work: Statement ofPrinciples;
The IASSW Consultation Team will meet with all stakeholders in the ‘Local
Consultative Team’ to ensure that the process is as participatory as possible;
Towards the end of the visit all the stakeholders involved in the consultations willmeet to formally review progress and future actions designed to meet the local goals
and the Global Standards for Education and Training criteria. This will be an
opportunity for agreement or dissent and will form the basis of a jointly constructedreport containing information about the process of the Consultation as well as theoutcomes for developing social work education locally.

After the Consultation:oo

The IASSW lead and the ‘Local Consultative Team’ lead will write and exchange theirreports, based on the joint review meeting. If discussion is needed this will takeplace before the final report is produced. The final report will consist of accounts
from both parties.
The conclusions of the final report will be disseminated to the Board members ofthe IASSW as part of the Education Committee report. Other elements of the report3oowill be used to revise the Consultation Guidance but would not normally be
published in full by the IASSW;The School/organisation will provide feedback on their progress after six months;
The IASSW Consultation team will critically examine its work and identify lessons
learnt for presentation to the Education Committee and thereafter the IASSW Board.

Application
A formal application should be submitted to the President of IASSW for consideration by theEducation Committee. A decision will be made jointly between the Committee and the President,
based on the request and the capacity of the IASSW to respond, and will be communicated to theSchool/organisation by the President. The Education Committee will be responsible for inviting
suitable members to join the Consultation team according to the principles outlined above.
Fees to be charged
Normally a programme requesting an IASSW Consultation will be expected to cover all direct
expenses such as air travel, accommodation, meals and local transport for the IASSW Consultation
Team members. Team members will not receive payment, only their expenses. In addition anominal Consultation fee will normally be charged by the IASSW according to the earning capacityof the applicants (see Table 1 below). The fee paid will be used to support future education andresearch initiatives by IASSW. Programmes will be expected to involve the appropriate Regional
Association as part of the Consultation and may choose to approach the Regional Association for
financial support to cover a portion of the costs of the Consultation. IASSW encourages programmes
to seek financial support from other sources and will assist in the preparation of proposals for thispurpose
Table 1: FeesCountry Income/person(in US$)Fee (in US$)Less than $5,000 per anum$300

$5,001- $ 10,000 per anum

$500

Over $10,000 per anum

$10004