Social Service Workforce Week 2026 takes place from 19 to 23 October, with the theme 'Exploring the role of supervision in supporting the social service workforce'.
In 2020, the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (GSSWA) published its Guidance Manual on Strengthening Supervision, which describes supervision as ‘a supportive relationship built on regular meetings focused on accountability, well-being and skill development, with the ultimate aim of improving services to clients’. Since then, many countries have developed supervision policies and frameworks inspired by this guidance, adapting it to their own contexts.
But how well have these policies worked in practice? How fully have they been implemented, what have they achieved, and what challenges have stood in the way? This year, we want to learn from the people doing this work. We invite members to share best practices on:
- Orientation and training for supervisors
- Funding supervision, including transport and payments for supervisors
- Types of supervision that work best in low-resource contexts: individual, group or both
- The frequency and format of supervision, including contracts or agreements
- Enabling reflective practice and discussing complex cases and professional dilemmas
- How supervision improves workforce wellbeing and retention, and prevents burnout
- Using supervision for planning and decision-making in case management
- Recording supervision and its outcomes in information management systems
How to join SSWW26
- Register for the open event, How does supervision support social service workers?, on 21 October at 12:00 UTC.
- Speak at the event by sharing your experience of implementing a supervision policy or framework in your country. Let us know your interest by using this form.
- Join the GSSWA Community of Practice on Changemakers for Children, our new main space for exchange among members and the home of this year’s Week activities.
- Share best-practice examples with members worldwide in the Community during the Week.
- Write a blog or short article on supporting the workforce and send it to [email protected].
- Join our online discussion: How does supervision support social service workers?
Social Service Workforce Week 2026 is made possible through the generous support of the Two Lilies Fund.