Call for Special Interest Group (SIG) Meetings

Call for Special Interest Group (SIG) Meetings

2/21/2025: Abstract Submission Site Now Open!

Submission Deadline: Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 11:59pm, Pacific Time

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The Society for Social Work and Research special interest groups (SIGs) facilitate networking opportunities for conference attendees to discuss specific social work research, policy, or practice in greater depth. We are now accepting requests to convene a SIG meeting (new or existing) to be held as part of the SSWR 2026 Annual Conference. As you may know, especially those of you who have held SIG meetings at SSWR over the years, the SIGs are an important component of the annual conference. SSWR will provide a meeting space for your SIG.

  • View How to Request a SIG Meeting
  • View SIG Policies and Development Guidelines
  • View Requirements for All SIG Requests
  • View SIG Review, Criteria, and Acceptance Process
  • View SSWR Governance Structure and SIGs
  • View Thinking about forming a SIG? Watch this SIG Virtual Panel as a start!
  • View SIG Meetings Held Previously at SSWR Annual Conference

HOW TO REQUEST A SIG MEETING

To facilitate the meetings of special interest groups (SIGs), it is necessary that all pre-existing and new SIGs submit a request to convene a SIG. Please see the list below for SIGs held previously. If you would like to convene one of these SIGs or convene a new SIG, please complete the online form at www.sswr.org by Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 11:59pm, Pacific Time. If we do not hear from you by this date, we will assume that the SIG you are associated with does not plan to convene during the 2026 annual conference.

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) POLICIES AND DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

The SSWR Research Capacity Development Committee (RCDC) hosted a webinar in January 2021, in which SIG conveners were invited to participate. Watch the video at https://sswr.org/sig-development-guidelines/. The purpose of the webinar was to provide new SIG conveners with an introduction to SIGs and provide all SIG conveners with ideas for the development and expansion of their SIGs and begin to develop a network of SIG conveners. Please note that SIG meetings for the 2026 annual conference will be held in-person in Washington, DC.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL SIG REQUESTS

SSWR, as part of its governance structure, has legal responsibility for SIG meetings at the conference and SIGs which meet at the SSWR annual conference are “committees.” The convener/co-conveners of the SIG will serve as chair/co-chair of the committee.

SIG requests must include the following information.

  • Basic information (e.g., SIG name, convener and co-conveners, anticipated SIG attendance)
  • Activities (e.g., SIG meetings in addition to those held at SSWR, communications to SIG attendees)
  • Legal status (is the SIG affiliated with any other organization or entity?)
  • Description (e.g., 100-word description of your SIG)

SIG convener/co-convener requirements include:

  • Membership – all conveners/co-conveners must be current members of SSWR when they request the SIG and must be current members for the 2026 membership year (January 1 – December 31, 2026).
  • Registration – all conveners/co-conveners must register for the conference.
  • Conveners must complete a post-conference report (e.g., provide the number of attendees and a narrative summary of your SIG meeting). A separate questionnaire will be sent to you after your SIG meeting, which must be completed within 30 days of your meeting.

SIG Review, Criteria, and Acceptances Process

  • Review: All SIG requests received by the deadline will be reviewed by the SSWR Vice President and Conference Chair.
  • Criteria: SIG requests must be relevant to social work research. Proposed new SIGs may address a new focus, e.g. research topic, methodology, and audience (faculty, students, deans, associate deans, community-partners), etc. Please refer to the list below of SIGs that have been held previously.
  • New SIGs will be reviewed to ensure they do not conflict with another SIG submission. If one or more SIG requests overlap, in terms of focus, we will encourage those SIG conveners to combine and coordinate the facilitation of the SIG meeting.
  • All reconvening SIGS must submit a request annually. No SIGs are automatically carried over from year-to-year.
  • New SIG requests that do not overlap with previously held SIGs will be considered as independent SIGs.
  • Final acceptance is based on the availability of meeting space and time on the conference program. Historically, SSWR has adequate meeting space and time on the program to accept all SIGs which meet the criteria.

SSWR Governance Structure and SIGs

The SIGs are committees within SSWR’s governance structure. (See SSWR Bylaws, Article V. Committees, Section 16 at https://secure.sswr.org/about-sswr/bylaws/.)

SSWR SIGs may not use SSWR’s name in ways that create legal liabilities or results in income for the SIG or its members. SIGs may not make statements on behalf of SSWR or enter into any contractual agreements, memos of understanding, etc. SIGs may not make a statement in support of any national, state, or local legislation; such a statement constitutes lobbying. SSWR is an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit organization and may not lobby.

These activities may not be undertaken without explicit approval by the SSWR Board of Directors. To request more information, please contact Jennifer Lewis by email at lewis@sswr.org.

SIG conveners and attendees must adhere to SSWR’s Anti-Harassment Policy and Code of Ethics and Procedures for Review of Member Conduct (https://secure.sswr.org/about-sswr/sswr-anti%e2%80%91harassment-policy/)

SIGs may use the SSWR logo in their materials; for approval contact Jennifer Lewis by email at lewis@sswr.org.

Thinking about forming a SIG? Watch this SIG Virtual Panel as a start!

The Society for Social Work and Research Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are an important component of the annual conference but vary greatly in terms of their development and activities across the calendar year. The virtual panel (held 1/26/21) aimed to provide an opportunity for SIG conveners, or those who may be interested in developing a SIG in the future, to meet, network, and learn from the experiences of three long-running SIGs through a panel-style discussion and question and answer session. Panelists discussed their experiences developing SIGs, insights into the challenges and opportunities, and tips for organizers.

IMPORTANT: Failure to adhere to these requirements will impact future SIG requests.

The SIGs will be scheduled for either Friday (January 16), 7:00 am – 8:00, am, 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm, or Saturday (January 17), 7:00 am – 8:00, am, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm. Due to the complexity of the schedule we cannot consider scheduling requests. Meeting space is limited. We will confirm your request via e-mail by mid-November 2025. Confirmed SIGs will be listed in the conference program and will indicate the meeting room assignment.

SIG Meetings Held Previously at SSWR Annual Conference

  • Abolitionist Social Work
  • Acamamas: Academic Mothers
  • Acting on a 21st Century Research Agenda for a Child Welfare and Child Well-Being System – Networking Session for Funders and Researchers
  • Addictive Behaviors and Substance Misuse SIG
  • Advanced Illness, Palliative and End of Life Care
  • Advancements in Translational Biobehavioral Research
  • Advancing Long and Productive Lives (Grand Challenge)
  • Advancing Racial Equity in Practice and Practicum: Organized By the Partnership for Equity and Excellence in Practicum (PEEP) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work
  • Afghanistan Veterans and Diasporic Communities Research Development and Advocacy Network
  • Aging Research, Policy, and Advocacy Network
  • Anthropology and Social Work
  • Arts-Based Research and Praxis
  • Associate and Deputy Deans of Faculty Affairs, Faculty Development, and Academic Affairs
  • Associate Research Deans and Directors SIG
  • Black @ SSWR
  • Black Administrators, Researchers, & Scholars (BARS)
  • Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Tenured Professors
  • Building Financial Capability and Assets for All (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Building Healthy Relationships to End Violence (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Child and Family Traumatic Stress
  • Child Welfare
  • Children & Youth Behavioral Health Policy and Services Research
  • Coalition for the Promotion of Behavioral Health (Grand Challenge)
  • Community and Neighborhood SIG
  • Competency-Based Education in Social Work
  • Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellowship Program (CSWE-MFP)
  • Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment (Grand Challenge)
  • Criminal and Juvenile Justice
  • Critical Feminisms
  • Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
  • Decolonizing Research Methods
  • Disability
  • Disaster and Climate Research
  • Discrimination and Health
  • Doctoral Education SIG
  • Eliminating Racism (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Eradicating Social Isolation (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Fatherhood Related Research SIG
  • Field Education
  • Financial Capability and Asset Building
  • Foster Care and Higher Education SIG
  • GADE Social Work Doctoral Education SIG
  • Grand Challenge to End Homelessness
  • Grand Challenge to Eradicate Social Isolation
  • Grand Challenge to Promote Smart Decarceration (PSD)
  • Harm Reduction
  • Harness Technology for Social Good (Grand Challenge)
  • Health Equity & Families
  • Health Loss and Well-Being of the Children of Criminal Justice Involved Parents
  • Historical Research in Social Work
  • HIV and Aging Research
  • Human Trafficking
  • Human-Animal Interaction Research
  • Immigrants and Refugees
  • Implementation Research
  • Indigenous and First Nations Focused Research
  • Journal of Community Practice Editorial Board
  • Kinship Care and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
  • Korean American Social Work Educators Association
  • Latinx-Focused Research
  • LGBTQ Health Research Hub
  • Lived Experience, the Lived Experience/Peer Workforce & Social Work
  • Management and Organizations SIG
  • Maternal and Infant Mental Health
  • Mentoring and Support Experiences for Black Women Leaders in Social Work Education SIG
  • Mixed Methods Research
  • Multi-System Children and Youth (Note: This is the correct submission to use)
  • Oncology SIG
  • Organizations and Management
  • Pilipinx Social Work and Allies Group (P-SWAG)
  • Policy Research & Social Work
  • Political Social Work and the Future of Democracy
  • Preventing Gun Violence (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
  • Psychiatric Medications
  • Qualitative Methods SIG
  • Qualitative Social Work Research
  • Reducing Extreme Economic Inequality (Grand Challenge)
  • Reimagining Justice for Youth and Young Adults (RJYYA)
  • Research and Advocacy for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities
  • Research on Social Work Journal – Special Interest Group Meeting
  • Research Synthesis Methods
  • Research with Service Members, Veterans, Family Members and Their Systems of Care
  • Resilience and Strengths-Based Research SIG
  • Rural Behavioral Health
  • Scholars across Anthropology and Social Work
  • School Social Work and School Based Research SIG
  • Simulation-Based Research on Social Work Education and Practice
  • Smart Decarceration (Grand Challenge for Social Work)
  • Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship
  • Social Work and First-Episode Psychosis
  • Social Work and Neuroscience
  • Social Work and Reproductive Justice
  • Social Work and Research with Multiracial Individuals and Families
  • Social Work Contributions to Psychosis & Schizophrenia
  • Social Work Leadership in Addressing Health Disparities through Interdisciplinary Collaboration
  • Social Work Scholars in LGBTQ+ Research SIG
  • Social Work Supervision and Workforce Development Scholars
  • Social Work, Jewish Identity, and Judaism
  • Social Workers and the Use of Art in Advocacy, Healing, and Self-Expression
  • South Asian Social Work Educators’ Association (SASWEA)
  • Sport Social Work
  • Suicide Research, Prevention, and Intervention
  • The LGBTQ Caucus of Social Work Students & Faculty
  • Underrepresented Faculty in Higher Education: Pathways to Tenure
  • Universal Basic Income and Guaranteed Income Policies and Research
  • Violence Against Women and Children
  • Well-Being of Black Women and Girls (WBBWG)
  • Work and Work-Life Policies and Programs
  • Workforce Health and Well-Being Among Social Work Professions
  • Youth and Young Adult Homelessness
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