MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025 – Transformative social science: Collaborative models in welfare and social research, OsloMet University

Area of research for the project proposals

Over the past decades, approaches to social research have undergone significant changes, with an increasing emphasis on intensive collaboration between researchers and the stakeholders involved in the fields under study. While action research has a longer tradition, new collaborative models, such as citizen science, knowledge translation, co-creation, inclusive outreach, and responsible research and innovation, have gained prominence. This shift reflects broader changes in the production of knowledge and its role in society, where research is increasingly shaped by expectations of societal relevance, interdisciplinarity, ethical accountability, responsiveness to societal needs and challenges, and the delivery of societal impact. The emerging framework is referred to as transformative social science.

In the field of social research, these new collaborative models often involve users of social services in research on service development, for example, through advisory user panels or even as active co-researchers. Initiatives such as ‘living labs,’ located outside academic campuses and closer to the public, aim to enhance connections and foster involvement between citizens and research. Furthermore, research stakeholders are increasingly involved in defining research questions, co-developing methodologies, interpreting findings and disseminating results.

This research area invites proposals exploring the contribution and sustainability of such collaborative research models in creating positive changes within welfare fields. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• To what extent do collaborative research models achieve their goals of bringing about meaningful societal improvements, and what factors contribute to sustaining these improvements beyond the duration of the project?
• How do these models balance between stakeholder influence and the preservation of research quality, integrity, and independence?
• What are the conditions for collaborative research to democratize knowledge production in the field of social research?
• How do broader developments, such as the modern knowledge economy, influence the conditions for knowledge production and application in social work and social research? 

Candidates are encouraged to propose projects – based on qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches – that critically engage with these themes. Projects should align with the department’s focus on social work, child welfare, and social policy. 

#OsloMet #OsloMetropolitanUniversity #StudyinNorway #WorkinNorway #Researchjobs #Teachingjobs #Academicjobs #NordicAcademicjobs #phd #postdoc #NordicHE #NordicCentreinIndia