Social Inclusion

Research centre

  • Our research covers these four topics: 
    • People in vulnerable situations
    • Connecting professional
    • Workable organisations
    • Inclusive society
  • We provide answers to questions in social work organisations.  
  • We develop practical tools, such as textbooks, communication sheets, as well as continued learning courses and programmes. 
  • Main theme: Supporting social workers in building an inclusive society. 

People in vulnerable situations

The voice of excluded groups in society is indispensable for promoting social inclusion. We conduct research into real-life situations to get a better idea of the client perspective and highlight the meaning that individuals and groups in vulnerable positions give to their experience of exclusion, stigmatisation, and discrimination. We explore which roles people in vulnerable situations can adopt as they evolve towards agency and participation, and support them so their input is included in the development of qualitative and strength-oriented assistance and counselling. Our research also covers the use of experiential expertise in education, research, and social work.

Examples

  • Research on the lives and perspectives of diverse groups or people in vulnerable positions who require support and assistance and/or at specific intersections of exclusion, such as homeless youth, unaccompanied minors, former psychiatric patients, people with intellectual disabilities, dementia or autism, people from migrant backgrounds with specific vulnerabilities, and skipper families. 
  • Client surveys. 
  • Mapping the effects of new social developments such as climate warming, digitalisation and the energy crisis on the lives of groups and individuals in vulnerable situations. 
  • Action-based research aimed at improving the quality of assistance to vulnerable people. 
  • Person-centred care. 
  • Leveraging experiential expertise. 
  • Making indirect and process-related outcomes of social work practices visible. 
  • Describing and monitoring the co-creation of practices by clients, residents, volunteers, carers and professionals. 

Want to collaborate? Contact us. 

Connecting professional

Social work professionals play an active role in combating social exclusion and building an inclusive society. Connecting people and investing in relationships plays a key role in this. We support social professionals, volunteers, and carers to achieve quality counselling, care, and assistance. Together with professionals, we tackle a wide range of issues in the areas of connecting relationship-building, network building, interdisciplinary cooperation, and joint knowledge production. 

Examples 

  • Quality assurance in social work organisations. 
  • Diversity management in care facilities. 
  • The connecting professional in a context of disciplining and conditionalisation. 
  • Developing interdisciplinary partnerships. 
  • Evaluating partnerships through joint knowledge production. 
  • Professional relationship building in digital times. 
  • The place for meaning and ethics in the organisation as well as the development of normative professionalism. 
  • Relationship building in specific contexts (forensic contexts, psychiatry). 
  • Supporting network organisations (in youth or community care). 
  • Research and (impact) evaluation of socio-sports practices. 

Achievements 

  • We have contributed a chapter on professional practices and skills that are important in initial encounters between judicial social workers and their clients in the book 'Evidence-based Skills in Criminal Justice'. We do this based on a comparative study between Spain and Belgium.
  • As a care provider, how can you guide parents from migrant backgrounds through the complexities of the care process for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? As a parent of a child with ASD with a migration background, how can you best prepare for a meeting with a counsellor or school? With our communiAct tool, we help parents navigate the care process. The tool has been warmly welcomed by parents and professional social workers as a support tool and is available in Dutch, Arabic, English and Spanish. 

Want to collaborate? Contact us. 

Workable organisations 

Welfare facilities and social organisations are paying increasing attention gaining insights into the outcomes of their activities and interventions and underpinning this with scientific research and data. We offer support for (social work) practices on issues relating to quality, evaluation, and impact. We contribute to the development of methodologies and the description and strengthening of working principles and good practices in co-creation. We help find appropriate forms of impact evaluation to make the outcomes of social work practices visible. We also help innovate social work practices.  

Examples

  • Inter-sectoral and inter-professional collaboration. 
  • Generalist counselling of families with complex and multiple issues in different areas of life. 
  • Methodologies in social work. 
  • Custom programme theories. 

Want to collaborate? Contact us. 

Inclusive society

Shaping an inclusive society requires eliminating obstacles and improving participation opportunities for all. We focus on inclusion issues related to our diverse and rapidly changing society, exploring the structural effects of social inequality, poverty, racism, and discrimination. We also tackle challenges as a result of contemporary social developments, such as marketisation, privatisation, digitalisation, energy crisis, staff shortages in care, and social entrepreneurship in welfare organisations.

Examples

  • Mapping processes of social exclusion and poverty. 
  • Critical examination from a de-colonial perspective. 
  • Civil society contribution to local anti-discrimination policy. 
  • Politicising role of social workers. 

Want to collaborate? Contact us. 

What are the experiences and support needs of parents at pregnancy loss below 13 weeks? What support offerings can they currently count on? Through this project, we will address these questions.
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Duration:
Sep 2024 - Aug 2026
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Financing:
PWO
With this project, we want to help pregnant and new mothers (and their families). This is by providing a care pathway. We focus on mothers who are dealing with pregnancy loss or perinatal loss.
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Duration:
Sep 2024 - Aug 2025
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Financing:
PWO
Here, we want to use research and innovative care concepts to contribute to high-quality and integrated primary care for people in need of care and support, while also paying attention to their immediate environment.
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Duration:
Apr 2024 - Mar 2029
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Financing:
Fonds Daniël De Coninck (KBS)

Bea Van Robaeys
Head of research centre, PhD in social sciences, social work, lecturer and researcher with expertise in qualitative research on poverty, cultural diversity and social work

Aicha Ajhnejh
Educational counsellor and remedial educator, lecturer in the Orthopedagogy course. Expertise in research with elderly people with migration background.  

Saloua Berdai Chaouni
PhD in adult education sciences, gerontologist and biomedical scientist, lecturer and researcher with expertise at intersections of ageing, migration, dementia and (in)formal care provision, inclusive care organisations and inclusive research.

Jan Depauw
Social work assistant and master in social work, lecturer and researcher with expertise in social work in PCSW context and impact evaluation and impact-oriented action. 

Elise De Groot
Lawyer and philosopher, supervisor of participatory work with groups in socially vulnerable situations, researcher in qualitative research into the meaningful dimension of the social professional.  

Marit De Vroey
Teacher Orthopedagogy, involved in research on empowerment measurement.  

Kristel Driessens
Doctor in political and social sciences, lecturer and researcher with expertise in qualitative research into the world of people living in poverty and their client perspective, relational and power-oriented social work with socially vulnerable people and the cooperation with experts by experience, coordinator of Bind-Kracht and lecturer in the master's programme in social work at the University of Antwerp.

Sara Elloukmani
PhD in Sociology with expertise in identity and diversity on the shop floor of social work organisations.

Rona Kennedy
Transdisciplinary artist, master in performative practices, lecturer and researcher with expertise in creative and artistic research methods and guiding participatory arts practices.  

Vicky Lyssens-Danneboom
PhD in family sociology, social assistant, lecturer and researcher with expertise in qualitative research and client perspective.  

Bie Melis
Social assistant and criminologist, lecturer and researcher with expertise in action research on prevention, youth care and strength-oriented, network-strengthening methodologies.

Miet Neyens
Social agog and researcher with expertise in youth work and discrimination.

Veerle Soyez

Jenny Van der Aa
Social worker and PhD in anthropology, guest researcher focused on theoretical-methodological deepening of various projects. Specialising in poverty, migration and youth work.

Kathleen Van Loon
Teacher Orthopedagogy, involved in research on network strengthening.

 

Want to know more, collaborate or have a press question?

You can collaborate with our research centre Social Inclusion on topics such as:

  • Environmental analysis, empowerment measurement, or custom scientific support.
  • Expertise on care, assistance and community building.
  • Impact measurements.

Contact us without obligation