Invisible authors: an ethnography of the social life of social work assessment

Social work assessments are ubiquitous in daily practice, containing justifications for interventions and decisions. This article seeks to bring to the fore the extensive influence of the social work team in shaping the document and the resulting decisions. Assessments are not solely the work of the allocated social worker, supported person, and linked professionals; rather, they also represent collective actions involving multiple authors within the social work team. Drawing upon ethnographic data from a local authority adult social work team in Scotland between December 2019 and January 2021, this article explores the social life of the social work assessment. The findings outline the following themes: 1) team engineering; 2) the reader; 3) writing and rewriting; and 4) story building. The article builds a nuanced understanding of social work assessment work and provides new insight into the level and significance of team interactions within the assessment process.