Professor Rick Hood

About

I lead on research in the department with responsibility for undertaking applied research in the field of social work and social care, developing proposals and applications for external funding, supervising doctoral students, and supporting research and scholarship within the team. I am a registered social worker with over 10 years' experience of statutory child and family social work, and teach across a range of modules in pre- and post-qualifying social work courses. I have written two academic textbooks, Complexity in Social Work (2018) and Inequality and Social Work (2023), both published by Sage. I am co-chair of the BASW thematic group for children and families, and am a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Social Work.

My research takes a mixed methods approach to applying systems ideas to social care, particularly services for children and families. Recent grant-funded research has explored the link between system conditions and welfare inequalities in children's social care, the outcomes of services for different types of demand, and the social gradient of intervention using the national datasets for England. Other recent projects include a study of reunification and re-entry to care, an evidence review of decision-making and risk assessment, and an analysis of patterns of demand and provision in adult social care. I am currently leading on two mixed methods studies, the first exploring the link between financial precarity and child welfare interventions, funded by Nuffield Foundation, and the second examining stability and outcomes for children in children's homes, funded by the NIHR.

I believe that research, teaching and scholarship can make a difference to people's lives. The difference I would like to make is to promote systems thinking in social care policy, management and practice, draw attention to social inequalities, and harness the potential of human relationships and capabilities.

Academic responsibilities

Professor of Social Work

Qualifications

  • PgCert, Professional Education and Training, Kingston University and St Georges, University of London
  • PhD, 'Complexity and Interprofessional Working in Children's Services', Royal Holloway, University of London
  • MSc, Social Work, Royal Holloway, University of London
  • BA(Hons), German and Spanish, Jesus College, University of Cambridge

Teaching and learning

Research

Business, knowledge transfer and international