A Social Worker-Led Evaluation of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF)

Introduced in 2012, the UK’s Professional Capabilities Framework provided for the first time a service wide mechanism for assessing and developing professional practices against nine domains across education and career span. While innovative for its time, in the intervening decade, the PCF has neither been evaluated or revised. This paper details findings from BASW commissioned social worker-led evaluation of the framework. The evaluation examines how social workers use the PCF within their everyday roles, whether the nine domains can be improved, changed, or removed in any way and, whether the PCF is fit for purpose. The project utilised a mixed-methods research design consisting of an expert panel curated, online, eighteen-point, open-ended survey (n=278) followed by individual semi-structured interviews (n=16). The survey sample was representative of the workforce (ethnicity, age). Findings show near 80% of respondents consider the PCF fit for purpose with recommended improvements including: clearer centring of social justice; integration of super domains; an improved career framework; emphasis on reflection; and clearer professional leadership definition. We conclude by calling on the British Association of Social Workers to implement these recommendations, and reflect on the potential importance of the PCF to nations outside of the England.