Lorna Stabler, a distinguished researcher at CASCADE, the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre at Cardiff University, delivered a keynote address at the prestigious International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Social Work Conference in Uppsala, Sweden today. Her invitation to speak at this global forum underscored her significant contributions to the field of social work research.
Stabler, whose career has been deeply informed by her personal experiences, addressed the complexities of integrating lived, living, and learned experiences into research design and delivery. As someone who spent her childhood in foster care and later became a kinship foster carer for her younger brother, Stabler brought a unique and profound perspective to her work. These experiences have profoundly influenced her research focus on better supporting families and their networks to ensure children can remain safely within their communities.
Her keynote explored how to move beyond tokenistic involvement of those with lived experience in research. Stabler shared insights and examples from her work at CASCADE, where she has been at the forefront of advancing co-production within a research institute. She highlighted the benefits and challenges of this approach and discussed potential future directions for social work research that genuinely include the voices of those who have experienced the system firsthand.
The ISPCAN conference is a key event for professionals in the field of social work, bringing together experts, practitioners, and researchers from around the world to discuss the latest developments and challenges in child protection. Stabler’s participation as a keynote speaker not only reflected her status as a leading voice in the field but also emphasized the importance of her work in shaping the future of social work research and practice.