Founded in 1967 as the Social Administration Association, the SPA adopted its current name in 1987, reflecting the changing nature of the discipline and profession.

Benefits include subscriptions to the SPA's journals, discounted registration for its conference and the ability to apply for grants.

[3] Social administration as a discipline emerged in Britain in the mid twentieth century and expanded alongside the growth of the welfare state, especially in the period after the Second World War.

It became less vocationally-orientated and more academic;[7] the diplomas previously awarded were gradually replaced by full degrees; and some universities abandoned vocational teaching altogether.

Increasingly, to recognise the more academic focus, university departments began to incorporate social policy, rather than administration, in their names.

For members, it aims to provide a forum for discussion and a means of keeping up-to-date with changes in the discipline abroad and in the UK.

Public-sector and third-sector organisations may apply for institutional membership, charged at £100 annually (or discounted to £50 for those in the "economic south").

[16] The Association gives out its Special Recognition Award (SPA) on an annual basis to people who are due to retire within a year or who have already retired from the academic profession and who has either "made a sustained contribution to research in the field of social policy", "made a sustained contribution to teaching and learning of the subject ...", "had a sustained impact on political process/discourse ...", or "achieved esteem measured in terms of journal editing/establishing, promotion of social policy within other social sciences, membership of research councils or similar bodies.