Det är väl belagt i internationell forskning att en pluralism av olika kunskapsformer och organisatoriska förhållanden påverkar val och utformning av insatser inom socialt arbete. I den svenska kontexten har det visat sig att dessa kunskapsformer och så kallade ramfaktorer kan framstå som svårförenliga eller till och med i konflikt med varandra. Samtidigt saknas det aktuella svenska studier som på en nationell nivå visar vilken utbredning och upplevd betydelse kunskapsformer och ramfaktorer har för kommunernas utbud och val av insatser. I artikeln presenterar vi en nationell studie av enhetschefers syn på olika kunskapsformers och ramfaktorers förekomst och betydelse för utbud och beslut om insatser inom socialtjänstens individ- och familjeomsorg. Artikeln bygger på data från en nationell enkät riktad till enhetschefer för ett urval av Sveriges kommuners barn- och familje- respektive missbruksverksamheter. Resultaten visar att samtliga undersökta kunskapsformer och ramfaktorer påverkar val och utformning av insats, men att vissa former mer framträdande än andra. Främst baseras val och utformning av insats på individuell erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap från yrkeserfarenhet och utbildning, snarare än kollektiv professionell kunskap. Vidare menar enhetscheferna att systematiska kunskapssammanställningar påverkar i högre utsträckning än enskilda kvalitativa och kvantitativa forskningsstudier inom vetenskaplig kunskap. När det gäller ramfaktorer visar studien att insatsens kostnad påverkar i mindre utsträckning än faktorer som tillgänglighet, ramavtal och lagstiftning.

Swedish and international research shows that social work intervention design is permeated by a plurality of discretionary actors, knowledge forms, and organizational conditions. Against this background, this paper presents the results of a national questionnaire survey that explored and compared the organizational conditions and knowledge base of intervention design in local public administrations in Sweden. The empirical material of this study was gathered through a questionnaire survey completed by managers in Swedish social services. The sampling method was stratified based on the number of inhabitants in the municipality where the local public administration unit was located. Sweden’s 290 municipalities were divided into four strata. The data were analysed by descriptive statistical methods and correlation analysis (Spearman). The study found social work intervention design to be permeated by a pluralism of knowledge forms and organizational conditions. However, managers described some knowledge forms as more significant than others for the choice and design of interventions: professional experience-based knowledge, research-based knowledge, and evidence-based knowledge were described as the most significant. Client knowledge and layperson knowledge were described as the least significant, while organizational knowledge, such as local follow-ups and evaluations, was described as having a moderate impact on intervention design. When it comes to administrative and organizational conditions, financial restrictions were not reported as a crucial factor for the choice and design of interventions, while legislation and procurement were reported to have a greater impact.

In social work, the methods for achieving policy goals are often subject to local and case-by-case autonomy. This autonomy enables the design of interventions intended to meet policy goals to be negotiated between multiple actors, which are underpinned by diverse logics and interests and to be influenced by local organizational conditions. This article presents empirical findings from case studies taken from the child welfare departments of three Swedish municipalities, exploring how various patterns of reasoning (social workers’ own reasoning and their experiences of other actors’ reasoning) and local organizational conditions influenced the design of interventions. The study resulted in three findings: First, social workers mainly used collective experiences to formulate common approaches to intervention design proposals. Second, social workers’ intervention proposals were negotiated with various actors, whose focuses and interests differed, before being formalized, with clients mainly focusing on implementation feasibility and intervention needs, managers mainly focusing on procurement contracts and intervention costs, and laypersons mainly focusing on community interests. Third, the local availability and range of interventions constituted a considerable limitation for intervention design, since interventions to address recurrently identified client needs were frequently missing.

A national Swedish project was followed in 12 municipalities aimed at youth aged 15–20 years. Neither police nor social services systematically used the indicators based on criminological research and proposed by national authorities. The police and social services thought they had more contemporary and holistic intuitive knowledge than any systematic indicators could provide. Despite implementation difficulties, the project was described as a success at the political level and widely dispersed. The specific and systematic image of early indicators provided momentum at the policy level. The local authorities welcomed the opportunity to reach a group considered difficult to manage.