Research for a Better
Welfare Society
Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA-Norwegian Social Research
Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA)
Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA 1
NOVA –
Norwegian Social Research
This document presents NOVA's strategy for the
years 2015-18. It conveys the values we base our
activities on, the goals we want to attain, and the
means by which we intend to achieve them.
NOVA – Norwegian Social Research was
established on 1 July 1996, through the merger of
the following four research communities: The
Norwegian Institute of Gerontology (est. 1957),
conducting research on ageing and the elderly from
a social gerontological perspective, The Institute of
Applied Social Research INAS (est. 1966), focusing
on living conditions and welfare research, The
Norwegian Institute of Child Welfare Research (est.
1980), researching the challenges that face the Child
Protection Services, and The Norwegian Youth
Research Centre (est. 1990) undertaking research
on youth and young people.
Since the merger, NOVA has been one of Norway’s
leading institutes for applied social policy research.
Our research has had a multidisciplinary profile
focused on identifying and explaining social
problems, living conditions and quality of life issues.
NOVA's research aims to generate new knowledge
that can help strengthen and develop welfare
schemes and services.
On 1 January 2014 Norwegian Social Research
(NOVA) and The Work Research Institute (AFI) were
incorporated into Oslo and Akershus University
College of Applied Sciences (HiOA), Norway’s
largest state university college. Together they
established the Centre for Welfare and Labour
Research (SVA).
Through this partnership, NOVA is more closely
connected to Norway’s largest educational institution
in the field of welfare, and thus the institute is
positioned in a larger community of expertise.
We will continue as an independent research
institute. Through this collaboration, our core areas
will be strengthened, and we will contribute to
strengthening the research-based foundation of the
education of welfare professionals with our up-todate research. We will also develop our research
questions in close dialogue with those who
experience the challenges in the field.
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Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA's Vision
Research for a Better Welfare Society
NOVA will develop and disseminate new knowledge
about the social circumstances that shape people’s
living conditions. This knowledge will be useful for
policy makers, for the enhancement of the
professions, for users of the welfare system’s
services and the employees within them, and for an
informed democratic public debate. NOVA bases its
activities on three core values:
RESPECT
We base our activities on respect for the equality of
all and on the individual's entitlement to support from
the community, so everyone can realize their
potential as fully fledged citizens. All our activities
will respect the ethical standards of research. We
will convey our knowledge with respect for
uncertainty and the multitude of possible
interpretations, and respect for the distinction
between research and policy.
OPENNESS
We are committed to transparency in all aspects of
our activities. The foundation of the knowledge we
provide can be reviewed and verified by anyone. We
will be open to criticism and new ideas as well as to
dialogue with the target groups of our research.
Openness is the foundation for the open-minded
curiosity that drives the development of our new
research questions.
RESPONSIBILITY
As bearers of knowledge we have power to
influence that we must use responsibly. We must be
conscious of our responsibility to engage in the
challenges of research policies, and contribute in
such a way that the development of the welfare
society is based on relevant knowledge. We have a
particular responsibility for the scientific investigation
of circumstances that lead to quality of life problems
and exclusion. We have a responsibility to
communicate our research in a manner that
promotes knowledge-based social criticism.
An Outstanding
Research Institute
NOVA is an institute for applied social research. The
majority of our revenue comes from winning competitive
tenders. Our sources of fincance are The Norwegian
Research Council, public sector bodies that commission
research, and, to an increasing extent, European research
programmes. The competition is intensifying, and the
requirements for scientific originality and organizational
strength are increasing.
Our ability to combine scientific quality, relevance and value
for our clients is NOVA's main competitive advantage. We
combine ethical standards with scientific quality and good
project design. Our scientific work aims to provide
knowledge that enhances the contribution that practical
welfare policy can make to problem-solving. By contesting
conventional wisdom, NOVA sheds a critical light on the
established welfare measures and places new challenges
on the political agenda.
NOVA will be an outstanding research institute that
transforms scientific findings into a knowledge base for new
and better solutions to problems experienced throughout
society. We will transform challenges encountered in
professional practice into new, bold research questions.
Therefore, applied research must be multifaceted, in
dialogue with the forefront of international research, with
national policy makers and with the education and training
of practitioners. NOVA is a research community that has
extensive scientific collaboration with, and networks within,
the international research community.
NOVA will produce new knowledge. In order for this new
knowledge to be applied wisely, it is also our responsibility
as researchers to interpret and communicate the insights
we produce. At NOVA, we have high aspirations that our
scientists will bring new, relevant and significant insights
into the public debate about the Norwegian Welfare State.
We will take responsibility to ensure that our research is not
utilized in unwarranted ways.
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Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA will combine scientific
excellence with the practical
policies needed for new
knowledge. The knowledge we
produce, interpret and
communicate must have
relevance for the challenges
facing the welfare society.
NOVA will, in dialogue with the
users of our research, develop
knowledge that informs the
realization of the goals of welfare
policy. NOVA will contribute to
the transformation of challenges
encountered in professional
practice into new research
questions.
NOVA will ensure the quality of
our research through a
consistently international
orientation and publication
strategy.
NOVA will work determinedly
to strengthen our participation in
international research
programmes, both at the Nordic
and European level.
NOVA will collaborate with
resources from other disciplines
at HiOA to improve the flow of
knowledge from research to the
development of the practiceoriented professions.
NOVA 3
Research for a Sustainable
Welfare Society
Welfare schemes have to be consolidated and renewed if
Norway is to continue to have a social model based on
solidarity, with a high level of employment, good quality of
life and low levels of inequality and poverty. Housing, health
and work are fundamental elements of Norwegian welfare
policies. A changing population, fluctuations in housing and
labour markets and increased ethnic and cultural diversity
create new patterns of demand. An increasingly globalized
economy presents challenges to welfare programmes, base
funding and the latitude for a national distribution policy. The
challenges of global climate change will also have
consequences for welfare.
The welfare state must strengthen its sustainability. The
objectives and measures of welfare policy have to be
revised so that they actually address the needs of the
population in beneficial ways, for all groups and in all of life’s
phases. There must be sufficient resources to ensure all
citizens safe living conditions.
The professions involved in the welfare state must provide
new, better and more services. The welfare professions
have to work in new ways. There is a need to develop the
division of tasks between the public sector, the market, the
third sector and the individual. Social security benefits and
services must be supportive of each other in order to meet
the needs of a diverse population, and assist individuals to
cope and live well with disabilities.
The allocation of tasks between the state and the
municipalities is changing, as are the municipal structures.
Within the framework of The Norwegian Labour and Welfare
Administration (NAV) and the Coordination Reform, the
delivery of welfare services will be handled to an increasing
extent by local authorities. There is a need for more
knowledge about the interaction between the reforms, the
development of the municipal agencies that provide
services and the national aspirations for participation in
vocational activities and for public health.
NOVA's response to these social challenges is a proactive
research and development strategy. Knowledge must be
gathered about future needs and how they will pan out for
individuals and groups. Research and innovation projects
need to search for better solutions. Only then can the
welfare state achieve its goals accurately and in effective
ways. To prevent and limit social problems requires
knowledge about how the needs arise. Contextual
knowledge regarding the circumstances in which benefits
4 NOVA
Strategy for the years 2015–18
are received is required, so that people can
access assistance in ways that promote
dignity and self-efficacy. There is a need for
knowledge about the organization of welfare
measures and the distributional effects, so
there can be an informed debate about the
relationship between the individual and the
community. Research can help to cast light
on the relationship between obligations,
entitlements, personal responsibility and
fairness. There is also a need for knowledge
about the relationship between the way in
which welfare benefits are produced and
distributed, and the effects this interaction
has for the economy, employment and a
sustainable social development.
NOVA will be a leading research community in the field of quality of life challenges and
social exclusion. NOVA conducts research that both illuminates and takes a critical look
at the distributional effects of the welfare state's many schemes, with particular emphasis
on work, housing, health and income.
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NOVA will provide a social scientific
contribution to the understanding of the
relationship between population change
and the challenges facing the welfare
state. Particular emphasis will be placed
on studies of work, housing, health and
securing income.
NOVA will use a broad-based perspective
on theoretical and empirical studies of the
welfare state, and illustrate how welfare is
shaped in interaction between the public
sector, the market, civil society and the
family
NOVA will make the municipal dimension and the organization of local communities more evident in our research.
This will increase the practical relevance
of the knowledge acquired.
NOVA will continue and enhance a lifecycle perspective on living conditions,
with a particular focus on preventive
social policy and social investment.
NOVA will encourage a multidisciplinary research agenda, based on
knowledge that draws on contributions
from a wide range of scientific and
discipline-based specializations.
Information on all 129 000 individual clients of
Child welfare Services of Norway in the years
1990-2010 was collected in a database for the
project Child Welfare Services in Norway. A
strategic goal for the period 2015-2018 is to
update and develop the available data into a
research archive that can be used for studying
the relationship between the Child Welfare
Services’ operations and the social and political
effects of those operations on those who use the
services.
Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA 5
Research for a
Good Childhood
Childhood takes place in the intersection between family, school
and welfare schemes. The expansion in the availability of
kindergartens along with various school reforms has extended
the period that the young can spend in education from early
childhood until their late 20s. Family structures have changed
dramatically. A more multi-ethnic society has led to greater
variations in the childhood and adolescence experience of the
young. Longer periods of paid maternity leave and cash for care
benefits create new connections between measures to support
income, families and the labour market. New forms of social
exclusion mean that the welfare services have to prevent and
counteract the effects of a difficult start in life. A lot of research
shows that social challenges in early childhood impact
adversely on the whole of the individual's life course. However,
our knowledge about the mechanisms that produce these
connections is still limited. For NOVA, one of our primary
missions is to explore the circumstances in childhood that
guarantee successful socialization and educational
achievement.
The early childhood years lay the foundation for differences in
life-course and living conditions later in life. A good childhood
lasts a lifetime. A difficult childhood affects one throughout life.
Since almost all children in Norway attend kindergarten, there is
an increased need for broad-based studies to gain knowledge
about kindergartens. There is also a need for more insight into
the interaction between kindergartens and the special
arrangements made for children from less well-off families.
Increased knowledge about the Child Protection Services is an
important research field at NOVA. We need more knowledge
about the factors that create the demand for these services,
about the interaction between the organization of the service
providers and the quality of the services they provide. In
addition, we must generate knowledge about the long-term
effects different measures have on individuals’ life cycles.
The individual family’s resources are related to the educatio-nal
achievement of the young in school as well as to their
integration into the housing and labour markets. The
comprehensive investigation of schools, with a clear limit to
pedagogy, is one of NOVA’s main research topics. We will
increase knowledge about the causes of exclusion and dropout
rates, as well as the circumstances that create a good
childhood.
Childhood, youth and adulthood have historically been
categories that have affected the development of welfare
schemes. However, these concepts are constantly changing.
Research plays an important role in uncovering such changes
and sheds light on the possible consequences for the schemes
of a welfare society.
A Norwegian childhood is safer, compared to many other
countries. Comparative studies are very valuable for
understanding the factors behind and the circum-stances
underlying this difference. Therefore, NOVA strives continuously
to strengthen and maintain our position within European child
and youth research.
6 NOVA
Strategy for the years 2015–18
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NOVA will engage in broad-based
childhood research, with particular focus
on the interaction between childcare,
family and welfare state measures for
challenged families.
NOVA will continue to be at the forefront
of research on child welfare and
protection services. We aim to update
knowledge about childcare and the circumstances in which children grow up,
their need for assistance and the organizational and professional challenges of
creating good services and measures.
NOVA will be a leading force within
Norwegian youth research. Our
research will highlight the many
citizens who have a good upbringing,
and provide new knowledge that is
relevant for the various professions that
work with children and young people.
NOVA will invigorate its research on
education and pay particular attention to
dropouts in the transition between school
and work as well as to the schemes for
helping young people at risk.
NOVA’s research on growing up will be
multidisciplinary, empirical and
normatively oriented. A comparative
approach gives us greater insight into
circumstances that are uniquely
Norwegian and contributes to placing our
studies amongst those at the forefront of
international research.
NOVA’s Municipal Youth Surveys has now
collected information on about 200 000 young
adults in Norway. Municipal Youth Surveys is a
collaborative project conducted by NOVA
through the country’s seven Regional Resource
Centers for Substance Abuse. A goal is to
develop the research activities of the project in
the new strategic period, 2015-2018.
Research for Equal Social
Citizenship
In a well-functioning society all individuals have the
opportunity to realize their wishes and possibilities, but
without limiting the chances of others to do the same. Over
the last hundred years, Europe has developed large welfare
states where clear entitlements and obligations contribute to
developing a society in which everyone takes part as a fully
fledged citizen with respect for all individuals. However, how
does the welfare state actually function? Does it keep its
promises and does it achieve its goals?
The Norwegian welfare state promises to provide
assistance to all. Yet individuals and groups alike are totally
or partially excluded. Studies of the conditions for equal
citizenship are therefore essential for increasing our
knowledge about factors that inhibit and promote
participation in employment and other areas of social life.
All forms of exclusion undermine the welfare of the excluded.
An understanding of the causes of persistent and emerging
social problems must be based on knowledge about the
interaction between the individual's circumstances and
resources, and the design of welfare programmes. Social and
economic exclusion threaten the welfare state’s goals.
Immigration presents new challenges for society and requires
more expertise from the welfare state professionals. The
proportion of younger users of municipal care services
increases, for reasons that are not well understood. Low
levels of educational achievement and difficulties in getting
into the labour market probably create the need for
assistance from the health and care services later in life. In
order to understand the diversity of living conditions in society
it is essential to have knowledge about the housing market’s
importance for resource distribution and welfare; the impact
of inheritance and random market fluctuations must also be
taken into consideration.
One of NOVA’s core research fields is the scientific, problemdriven investigation into the causes of the difficult living
conditions experienced by certain individuals and groups. Our
perspective should include all aspects and settings that
shape, maintain and threaten the quality of life. The need for
equal welfare services adapted to the needs of a diverse
population requires a research agenda founded on the
municipalities’ responsibility and the challenges that are
experienced in local communities. NOVA will also investigate
the mechanisms that reduce participation in employment for
people with functional challenges, and will contribute to social
scientific knowledge about the situation of those who are
struggling with abuse, mental illness and experience of
violence or abuse.
Strategy for the years 2015–18
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NOVA will explore the conditions
that prevent equal participation in
all aspects of society. This implies
finding causes, highlighting attitudes and assessing how welfare
provisions are working in practice.
NOVA will strengthen research
about the conditions required for an
inclusive workplace and its
importance for individuals, the
labour market and society overall.
NOVA will continue to focus on all
the factors that make it hard for
some groups to access the labour
market and a range of social
settings.
NOVA will take a particular
responsibility for researching the
living conditions of people with
disabilities as well as young people
who are struggling with the transition into adulthood, with substance
abuse, violence, social isolation, and
mental health problems.
NOVA will develop knowledge
about goal attainment, efficiency
and user-quality in the services
delivered by the welfare state, and
increase understanding about how
these services interact with
families, markets and civil society
across national borders.
NOVA will strengthen its participation in international and
comparative studies, and strive to
participate in more joint European
research projects.
NOVA 7
Research for
Active Ageing
We are living longer and the population is getting older.
Population ageing brings both challenges and
opportunities. The number of the very old will increase.
Many will spend more years together with their spouse,
partner, grandchildren and friends. The upcoming
generations of elderly people will have better health, more
leisure time, good finances and the resources to live a
good life. How we as individuals experience our own
ageing, and how this will shape our working life and social
participation requires not only research, but also new
concepts and understanding, including new welfare policy
measures.
More research is needed to increase our understanding of
the factors leading to early work exits or loneliness and
social isolation. Such knowledge will inform policies
promoting quality of life, prolonged working life and active
ageing. NOVA contributes to a research effort that aims to
provide a knowledge base for governments and civil
society that will help to meet the approaching demographic
and economic challenges in appropriate ways.
NOVA is the main social science research institute for
ageing- and life-course research in Norway. Our research
contributes to increased insights into living conditions and
wellbeing in later life: social security and welfare, retirement
decisions and behaviour, working life, intergenerational
solidarity, housing and long-term care needs.
Long-term follow up of individuals’ working careers,
housing histories, lifestyles and health is a prerequisite for
understanding living conditions and distributional
mechanisms characterizing the societies of the future.
Insights into the living conditions of early old age may
yield important knowledge about the need for welfare- and
long-term care services in later life.
The interplay between an ageing population, age- and lifecourse-related life challenges, immigration and
intergenerational transmissions might increase social and
economic inequalities in the years to come. Hence,
ensuring the continuation of longitudinal life-course
studies based on large and representative samples is of
great importance to NOVA.
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NOVA will consolidate its position as
Norway’s leading research institute on
social scientific ageing research and the
consequences of an ageing population
NOVA’s research aims at contributing to
future housing solutions and long-term
care services that meet the needs and
demands of an ageing population. This
includes the development of knowledge
on the balance between private and
public solutions, and how these interact
with resources distributed within the
family.
NOVA will increase knowledge about
the life phase as a structuring societal
process, with a particular focus on the
housing market and housing for individuals in different generations and for
families in different life phases.
NOVA will promote multidisciplinary
and internationally oriented research
based on longitudinal life-course data.
NOVA considers it its primary task to
remain among the leading research
institutes in this field.
Alongside the ageing research that is
grounded in health sciences and
geriatrics, NOVA will provide theoretical
and empirical contributions to the
understanding of the relationship
between demographic change and the
challenges facing the welfare state.
THE NORWEGIAN STUDY ON LIFE COURSE, AGEING AND GENERATION (NorLAG) is a
national, multidisciplinary and longitudinal study including approximately 12,000 women and men. Core topics
are health, work and retirement, quality of life, care and family relations. NOVA aims to contribute to the
continuation of NorLAG by conducting a third phase in 2016.
8 NOVA
Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA’s objectives
for organizational development 2014–2016
NOVA will be a socially responsible employer. The enhancement of the interaction between
administrative functions and research activity at NOVA will be achieved by targeted organizational
development and a commitment to high levels of competence and professionalism in all areas of our
operations. The organizational infrastructure should support the core scientific activeties in ever
better ways. During the strategy period we will strive to achieve three main objectives:
1. Consolidate NOVA as an independent
research institute within the Centre for Welfare
and Labour Research at the University of Oslo
and Akershus
This implies enabling all employees to utilize the
resources and opportunities that the merger with
HiOA offers. This applies to administrative support
for research, to developing joint research projects
and to increasing the contribution from NOVA’s
researchers to the education and training that takes
place at HiOA.
2. Strengthen the core activities of our research
sections
policy areas that are the most important target
groups.
3. Strengthen the link between personnel policy
and professional development
This implies continuing to develop the practice of
having annual development discussions, so that the
administrative infrastructure can support the
individual’s professional development, regardless of
their role in the organization. That includes
developing NOVA's internal competence building
scheme, so that all employees are given
opportunities to take responsibility for realizing their
own ambitions.
This implies strengthening our participation in
international research projects and more clearly
prioritizing an active approach to sharing the results of
our research with those welfare professions and
KEY CONTACTS AT NOVA 2015
Director Kåre Hagen
Head of Research Bjørn Hvinden
Head of Administration Elsbet Vestvatn
+47 95 21 75 08
+47 46 41 82 06
+47 99 28 83 96
NOVA IS ORGANIZED INTO FIVE DEPARTMENTS
Department of Childhood, Family and Child Welfare Research
Acting Research Director: Tonje Gundersen
+47 98 46 34 04
Department of Youth Research
Acting Research Director: Helene Aarseth
+47 47 01 56 44
Department of Health and Welfare Studies
Acting Research Director: Are Vegard Haug
+47 46 41 05 37
Department of Ageing Research and Housing Studies
Forskningsleder: Marijke Veenstra
+47 90 23 02 54
Administration Department
Finance & Administration Manager: Kristine Krebs
+47 46 93 58 58
Strategy for the years 2015–18
NOVA 9
NOVA's Social Mission
(From NOVA's first letter of allocation from the University of Oslo and Akershus, spring 2014)
Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), as a department within the Centre for Welfare and Labour
Research at the University of Oslo and Akershus, will conduct research and participate in
development and innovation activities that can contribute to increased knowledge about the
population's living conditions and the workings of the welfare society.
NOVA
has a particular responsibility for:
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Developing new knowledge about processes of
social marginalization, as well as interpreting
and communicating this knowledge to policy
makers, welfare state professionals and the
general public.
Continuing and further developing research
about the living conditions in which children and
young people grow up, with a particular focus on
the Child Protection Services and through the
stages from kindergarten and school until the
young adults enter into the labour and housing
markets.
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Identifying the circumstances that enable
everyone, regardless of their own assumptions, to
realize their abilities and possibilities and be active
citizens participating in all of society's ordinary
welfare areas.
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Maintaining and furthering research, pilot and
development programmes, with particular
emphasis on vulnerable groups and on issues
regarding the child welfare services, their target
groups and their organization.
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Maintaining and developing an interdisciplinary
research agenda that can shed light on the
consequences of an ageing population, in
regards to social organization in various areas
and to the need for income support and services
from the welfare state.
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Coordinating insights from different disciplines in
order to apply a holistic, interdisciplinary and
comparative perspective to the challenges
facing the welfare society.
Within its sphere of responsibility, and in
accordance with HiOA’s overall strategy
documents, NOVA will:
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Undertake research commissioned by the public
authorities, and by private and public- sector
organizations who fund research that is publicly
available to everyone.
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Have an international orientation, with the goal of
participating fully in international networks and
attracting significant research funding from nonNorwegian sources.
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Initiate research, development and innovation
activities.
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Actively communicate research results and
connect with a broad range of audiences by
disseminate the new knowledge widely. This will
ensure that the results can be utilized as
knowledge platforms and provide a researchbased foundation for welfare-policy decisions as
well as for furthering the professional
development of the welfare state’s professions.
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Have a particular responsibility to develop
extensive collaboration regarding research and
education with the relevant professional studies
at HiOA.
www.hioa.no/eng/nova
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Strategy for the years 2015–18