Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic may represent a critical juncture able to open windows of opportunity for innovation in social work and social policies, provided that the involved actors are able to exploit these windows. In this qualitative study, forty-nine social workers employed in social and health care services were involved to understand whether and how it was possible to build resilient responses to the transformations triggered by the pandemic, fostering possibilities for innovation in work and organizational practices. The theoretical model proposed by Duchek (2020) oriented the research design, and a thematic analysis was carried out to grasp the emerging themes from the social workers’ voices. The analysis allows to identify the transformations needed to promote resilient social services organizations in the post-pandemic welfare, and the possible strategic role that social work can play, in ordinary and extraordinary times, to enhance creative and innovative practices authentically committed to countering forms of discrimination that oppress more vulnerable population groups.