This is a translation of an article from 2020-09-17

What is happening during the autumn within your centre?

– During 2020, CVS has changed its operations; for example, the Centre for Working Life and Science is now part of CVS. In the spring, we announced planning grants and research support, which is now underway. In addition, during the autumn we announced staffing for the study, “What attracts young people to the welfare professions? A comparison between the nursing programme and the police programme.”

– On 15 October, we will award the annual award, the SydVästenpriset, to reward managers who work for sustainable and qualitative leadership in the welfare area in Västra Götaland. And during the autumn we will hold an open lunch seminar series, "The socially sustainable society" and we will start the follow-up research project, over 2.5 years, which we received on behalf of the City of Borås (Editor’s note: see links at the end of the text).

What is the long-term vision of this centre?

– We focus on the opportunities and challenges that the modern welfare society faces in terms of governance, organisation, and management. A long-term goal is to contribute to a sustainable welfare society for those who govern, manage, and work in various welfare services, as well as those to whom these services are addressed. CVS wants to contribute to regional and national growth through knowledge development in the welfare sector. We work for university-wide collaborations between research groups, Faculties, and centres, as well as collaboration with external actors. Particularly important here is the Västra Götaland region, which provides basic financing for our operations.

– The activities at CVS are based on the vision statement of the University of Borås, namely: “Together, we take responsibility for the future. Through continually developing distinctive education and research, we make a difference.” This, in my interpretation, gives us the concrete goals of being responsible for collaboration, sustainability, societal impact. With the planning grants that give researchers time to write applications for external funding, we work with the university's goal of increasing the proportion of external funding.

What is the major societal challenge you are working on right now?

– We focus on the following areas: Cross-sectoral and collaborative organisation for a sustainable welfare society; governance, management, and organisation for welfare competence provision; and the consequences of digitalisation for welfare organisation, professions, and users. In several projects that have received funding, these focus areas have been related to the societal crisis we are now going through in connection to COVID-19.

– In addition, social sustainability is central to our work, which is especially evident in our seminar series. The purpose of the seminar series is to create a broad platform where research results that relate to current issues of the welfare society and social sustainability can be presented and discussed. The idea is that the platform can be a way to influence and inspire politicians, civil servants, trade unions, civil society, journalists, and researchers, but also a way for the university to reach and communicate with the general public.

Are there any projects underway that you would like to tell us about?

– We have started several exciting projects in 2020. They are, for example, about a socially sustainable Borås, the organisational effects of digitalisation, the Norrby area, robotisation, and hybrid organisations.

Facts

There are five centres at the University of Borås. The purpose of these centres is to strengthen networks which aim to contribute to quality development of the university's education and research.

See more about the centres.

Read more

The project "Cross-sectoral collaboration in socially sustainable Borås"

CVS’s website