All projects

This project continues our research into Norwegian municipal and county elections. Central themes include voter behavior and participation, in addition to representation, political trust, the media and AI. 

A project examining how compliance with the rules on the duty of diligence/supervision (påseplikt) and joint and several liability under the general application scheme for collective agreements, is implemented in practice.

What are the attitudes of the Norwegian majority population towards the Sámi people, and how can these be measured systematically over time? In this project, we develop a set of survey questions to systematically measure attitudes towards the Sámi and analyse data from a nationwide survey in which these questions are used.

Work–Family Trade-Offs in Context: Labor Market Conditions, Gender Differences in Parental Career Trajectories and Family Well-Being

The Norwegian Institute for Social Research/CORE serves as the host institution for developing a Nordic network for researchers working on issues related to boys and men in the Nordic countries.

This project examines the measures, routines and support systems in place to address hate, threats and harassment against local politicians. In addition, the scope, nature and consequences of hate, harassment and threats in the 2027 local election campaign are examined.

UPSTREAM will contribute new knowledge on the effects of preventive social policies on child maltreatment and the mechanisms involved from a comprehensive Nordic welfare state.

ACCESS will investigate the relationship between socio-economic background and the recruitment and careers of academic professionals.

Political-democratic differences between women and men are emerging as a growing challenge in Western societies, particularly among younger generations. STRUGGLE examines which gendered life experiences contribute to these differences.

This project maps how five major Norwegian news outlets covered the war between Israel and Hamas from 7 October 2023 to 9 October 2025, examining how key actors and events were framed, which topics were covered, and how sources were used and weighted.

What does it take for Norwegian working life to function as an arena for the integration of immigrants? This project provides comprehensive knowledge about the pathways into and upward within working life for different groups of immigrants – and about the role the workplace itself plays, seen from the perspectives of employers, trade unions and immigrants themselves.

Investors across Europe have for years exploited loopholes in dividend withholding tax rules to avoid taxation or claim unwarranted refunds. TAXLOOP maps the scale of these schemes and assesses which regulatory responses are effective.

This project will use new data from staffing agencies, for the first time used in research, to investigate the economic consequences of temporary agency work.

The project will compile and disseminate new research on key dynamics related to time, replaceability, and rewards within employee careers in banking, as well as portfolio careers.

The project will result in a policy brief, showing the effect of women’s increased participation in the labour market as a factor in Norway’s GDP growth.

The project will generate new knowledge about private high schools, with particular emphasis on students' learning outcomes, grades and completion, and segregation between schools.

The project examines the characteristics of volunteer-run open meeting places, how they can be distinguished from other leisure and youth services, and their current scope in Norway.

The City of Oslo wishes to map the voluntary sector in Oslo. This was last done in 2019, before the pandemic, and there is therefore reason to update knowledge about the city’s voluntary sector.

Choosing an education is one of the most important decisions young people make, and it is of great significance both for the individual and for society. This project aims to provide new and up‑to‑date knowledge about how young people in Norway choose education and careers, and which factors influence their choices.

CONSULT examines what kind of knowledge consultants provide to the state, and what the use of consultants means for the legitimacy of political decisions.

The project examines how evolving skill requirements and technological change shape competencies and their value.

The project examines how changes in the school environment — such as digitalization, performance pressure, and student composition — affect the mental health and academic performance of children and adolescents.

The project examines social and economic differences in birth rates, childlessness, and partnership formation.

SURE-AI is a research centre that addresses major challenges related to resource use, risk, and ethics.

This project examines how the transition to parenthood affects income and wage disparities between women and men, and which factors amplify or reduce these inequalities.

The GENDERSKILLS project examines how the different educational choices made by men and women affect their career opportunities.

BATTLE will examine what kinds of signals about diversity and diversity work organizations send to their employees, and how different groups of employees respond to these signals.

Ukrainian Returns is a research dissemination project which sheds light on the legal, political and humanitarian aspects of return and reintegration in Ukraine.

How prepared is the population to contribute when crises occur? PREPCI examines the factors that influence citizens’ ability and willingness to act in situations ranging from natural hazards to hybrid threats, and how this aligns with the expectations of emergency management actors.

The project will describe the developments in alternative work arrangements, with novel data sources and in light of recent policy changes, and examine consequences for employers and employees.

In this project, we will study the conditions and challenges of a democratic electoral system by and for the Sámi in Norway in general, and the Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election in 2025 in particular.

How does Generative Artificial Intelligence affect what people know, believe, and trust?

In the CoPro-project we will investigate the coproduction of welfare services between government- and voluntary actors within elderly care and drug care, in Norway and Germany. 

This project investigates the impact of tax deduction schemes on monetary donations to voluntary organisations, with a focus on social inequality and distribution effects. The goal is to document how tax deductions influence donation patterns and the organisations' revenues.

This project maps changes in organisational population and organisational form at local, regional, and national levels. The goal is to update the data foundation for both local and national organisations and analyse their development over time.

This project explores how civil society organisations affect political processes, both through conventional channels and alternative strategies such as protests and legal actions. The aim is to understand the organisations' democratic role and their influence on political decisions.

This project examines how the increase in the number of paid employees impacts voluntary organisations and their functioning. The aim is to identify both challenges and benefits of professionalisation, as well as sources of conflict between volunteers and employees.

This project explores the experiences of Ukrainian refugees with participation in civil society and leisure activities in Norway. The aim is to identify barriers and success factors for participation, as well as to compare these experiences with those of other refugee groups.

This project investigates the role of volunteering in rural areas with declining populations in Norway. The goal is to understand how volunteer organisations can mediate the interests of the population, meet service needs, and create social structures.

This project investigates the impact of government grants to voluntary organisations, focusing on how the funds contribute to addressing societal challenges. The goal is to develop methods for evaluating the effectiveness of grants and identifying success factors.

This project examines the social composition among board members and leaders in voluntary organisations, focusing on representativeness and inclusion. The goal is to analyse changes over time and compare them with the composition of the population.

This project investigates how immigrant parents' access to information and their involvement affect children's participation in leisure activities. The goal is to understand the parents' experiences and expectations, as well as the strategies of organisations and municipalities for inclusion.

This project investigates how social media influences civil engagement and participation in voluntary organisations. Through a comprehensive analysis of data from 2025 to 2028, we aim to understand changes in forms of participation and social inequality related to digital engagement. This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project analyses how the role and content of volunteering vary across different contexts. The goal is to understand how these variations influence the use of voluntary effort and the professionalisation of volunteering.

The project investigates voluntary effort and community engagement in the five Nordic countries. The goal is to understand similarities and differences in voluntary work and put Norwegian volunteering in a Nordic perspective.

This project continues the time series of surveys on voluntary effort in Norway, aiming to map changes in participation and understand barriers and motivations for voluntary work. The project will also examine the role of civil society in democratic robustness and social integration.

This project examines Norwegians' motivation for voluntary effort and how this has changed over time. The goal is to understand variations between different types of voluntary fields and tasks, and to analyse the public media discourse on voluntary engagement.

Norwegian title: Ett skritt i forkant av skatteunndragelse

The MORALCHANGE project explores how changes in moral values have shaped political and cultural divides in Scandinavia over the past five decades.

This project will investigate the significance of health for social inequality and mobility across generations.

The project will provide an overview of attitudes towards key gender equality issues among different parts of the Norwegian population, based on the CORE Survey 2022.

The project aims to provide insight into racism and discrimination across various areas of Norwegian public life.

The world of work is undergoing major changes — from digitalization and the green transition to an ageing population. This project examines how workplaces and employers can facilitate good, long careers as an ever-larger share of the workforce reaches their 50s, 60s and 70s.

The project examines the role that voluntary low-threshold services play in the inclusion of children and youth and the interaction between such services and public services in education, welfare, and health.

The project is part of the Center for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector

How can youth clubs be strengthened to provide better services for young people? 

Coordinated Online Panels for Research on Democracy and Governance in Norway (KODEM) allows multiple projects to share common observational platforms (i.e. online panels).

This project is initiated by CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality and financed by The Institute for Social Reseach.

A summary of research on class/social background in academic careers

Challenges and possibilities within the Nordic work-family model.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, the ISF examines the cooperation between municipal

Co-constructing Solution Pathways with Coastal Vulnerable Groups in Africa and Asia

This project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

In collaboration with the Norwegian Women's Public Health Association, the Institute for Social Research (ISF) is conducting a follow-up evaluation of the establishment of Kvinnehelsehus in four Norwegian cities. The project is funded by the Foundation Dam.

When Robots meet the Nordic model: job creation, destruction or retraining?

This project is part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

The coronavirus pandemic affected all parts of Norwegian society, including the voluntary sector. The Center for Research on Civil Society and the Voluntary Sector has conducted surveys in the population and among organizations before, during, and after the pandemic.

This project will examine the developments and explanations of the gender wage gap in the Norwegian labor market. We will look at women and men who perform the same work and assess possible indicators for measuring wage inequalities between women and men performing work of equal value.

On behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Developments, NORCE and ISF carry out the evaluation of the provision on assistance for voters with disabilities.

The purpose of the project is to provide new insight into how the assistance provision in the Electoral Act is put into practice.

Media Poverty examines how conditions of poverty affect people’s possibilities to enact informed and active citizenship through their use of the media.

The goal of this project is to study how technological change in the workplace contributes to political transformations, the adoption of policies to address change, and the political consequences of such policies.

This project aims to understand the effects of transitions in the educational system on later labour market participation, family formation and health.

The research project addresses the costs aspects of caring for a child with a disability.

This is a partner project. See the NORCE project page here.

This is a partner project. See the UiO project page. 

In the wake of New Public Management reforms, the role of trust in the public institutions of the Nordic welfare state has been politicized and entered the public debate in a previously unprecedented form.

In this project we investigate what kind of contact the local politicians have with the citizens.

The project examines how much influence experts have over public policy, and how much power they ought to have.

GREENFIELD investigates the impact of the green transition on skills requirements and labour market outcomes at the firm and individual level, as well as measures that can help realize or speed up the green transition.

CORE Survey – The Equality Survey is a survey examining the population’s views on various issues related to gender equality.

ISF is a partner in the research project DIGIT – The Research School. The project offers a two-year program for PhD candidates or postdoctoral researchers registered at Norwegian universities.

The project's main objective is to analyze the impact of EEA law on the welfare state. It is the first analysis of its kind. The research group includes Europe's leading experts on free movement and European welfare law.

This project examines participation motives for volunteering work among children, young adults and adults with an migration background. 

What factors and mechanisms can explain the high infection rates in certain immigrant communities?

This project is a commission for a public committee established by the King in Council on August 12, 2022, tasked with assessing how commercial operations can be phased out in various tax-financed welfare services.

What was the role of the press in the Baneheia case? To what extent did Norwegian media contribute to the 20-year delay before the verdict was overturned and Viggo Kristiansen was released?

Some groups believe that societal development is heading in the wrong direction while having low trust in the media and public authorities. This project investigates the perceptions of "the alarmed citizen," their societal participation, information networks, and media use.

Danish politicians are often harassed on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In this project, we investigate what forms of abuse politicians are exposed to and whether efforts to stop the harassment are working.

This project is commissioned by NAV and has two sub-projects. The first analyzes people on sick leave and people exiting the labor market, while sub-project two analyzes inclusion and sickness absence.

Voluntary organizations have an impact on both the individuals who participate and on society in general. This project investigates voluntary organisations social effects on inclusion.

The project highlights people's institutional trust with a particular focus on institutions that are relevant to national security and national security interests.

The Electoral Diary Project (Valgdagbokprosjektet) look at the election campaign from the voters' point of view. There are many research projects that look at how election campaigns take place, but few allow the voters themselves to have a say.

This project investigates municipalities' cooperation with voluntary organizations and municipalities' use of self-recruited volunteers, within the field of health and care.

COST-aksjonen EMPOWER SE forsøker å adressere eksisterende fragmentering i kunnskapsnivåene angående sosiale virksomheter (SE)

The project consists of four sub-projects that shed light on volunteering in different ways: consequences of the corona pandemic, life course and motivation explanations, and volunteering among the elderly and immigrants.

"New trends in civic engagement and digital media" illuminates the scope and importance of new forms of community engagement. The project focuses in particular on the importance of social media for participation in civil society and voluntary organisations.

How can private companies and voluntary organizations work together? This project examines how the cooperation between the business world and volunteering in Norway.

In this project, we analyze the wage trajectories for researchers and other highly educated workers in the Norwegian labor market.

CORE Gender Balance Scorecard monitors the gender distribution in the top management groups in the largest Norwegian enterprises and follows the development over time.

Exploration of reasons for, and consequences of, women and children being withheld or left behind abroad.

Follow-up assistance and prevention.

This project resulted in an report about the consequences of the covid-19 pandemics for the voluntary sector in Central Norway.

In recent years, the public debate about the challenges boys and men face in today’s society has resurfaced and received increased attention. What does previous research say about this and what are the reasons?

A knowledge mapping of the activity and reporting duty in the Equality and Anti-discrimination Act.

Co-production is a new way of working together, where all involved partners in public services plan, implement and evaluate. This project studies co-production in the Nordic countries.

Workers will often be in the best position to disclose illegalities and malpractice at the workplaces. Whistleblowing and employers’ ability to react and handle is important to avoid wrongdoing that can damage employees, businesses, patients and customers – or eventually – the society as a whole. It is also a basis in well-functioning industries and labour markets. This project will put the employers in the center of our analysis.

Global platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Netflix dominate the media lives of Norwegian teenagers. Do national media actors still have a chance to win back the “lost generation”?

This project evaluates trials with the Leisure Card pilot project in selected municipalities. The leisure card is a scheme for all children and youth aged 6 to 18, which provides semi-annual monetary support to cover participation fees in regularly organized leisure activities.

The project addresses the role of regional business costs, public employment, the localization of technology and skills, and the impact of global competition for job creation at the regional level.

This is a European cooperation project with the aim of equipping European employees and volunteers in civil society organizations by strengthening their knowledge.

Prejudice against Jews is a serious problem, and the Norwegian government has combined and strengthened its efforts against antisemitism through two action plans. This project evaluates the action plans for the period 2016-2023 commissioned by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.

The aim of the project is to examine, systematize and analyze the experiences with various democracy initiatives in seven Norwegian municipalities – Bergen, Bodø, Lørenskog, Gjøvik, Sunnfjord, Suldal and Vadsø.

The project U+MxV (Youth participation) will map how participation from young people takes place in Norwegian municipalities, as well as contribute to creating models for participation processes.

The project summarizes existing knowledge about gender balance in boards and management in Norwegian business life. It also contributes with an assessment of how the measures to promote such gender balance have worked.

The growing impacts from climate change and environmental problems raise a variety of different questions for social research. This research initiative sheds light on social science research questions within climate change and environmental policy and aims to put forward new insights on this profound challenge of our times.

The initiative is coordinated as an umbrella project with experience-sharing across subprojects.

The aim of this project is to identify methods and integration measures that work for different groups. A key question is how the integration programs can best be adapted to the changing composition of refugee groups arriving in Norway.

In this project, we will investigate the consequences of the pandemic for children’s and young people’s conditions in which to grow up, for equality in families and for individuals, including children and adults with disabilities, as well as experiences on the internet. 

Public authorities and employers’ activity duty and the duty to issue a statement

This project examines the relationship between men’s and women’s work, and fertility. For most families, there is a conflict between time and income in the decision to have children.

Towards equal opportunities?

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The starting point for the project is that all eligible voters shall have the same opportunity to vote in elections.

Balancing vulnerability and future integration in eight resettlement countries.

The project investigates the factors that beyond individual and family resources generate inequalities in children and youth participation in organized leisure activities.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

Gender balance at the top of the business world: Obstacles and opportunities.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality

The project identifies the norms that determine (non-)deportability and theorises the scoping conditions under which they are promoted and contested.

How has the coronavirus affected the labor market in Norway and the demand for labor?

In this project, we analyze the wage trajectories of researchers in the Norwegian labor market.

What is the monetary value of women’s and men’s unpaid care and domestic work, and how does it impact the national economy?

Trust between citizens and authorities is a prerequisite to be able to handle the corona crisis. This project analyses how the health authorities communicate in this regard, what role is played by social media and what levels of trust are expressed by citizens.

What are the greatest challenges to freedom of expression today? The public debate on freedom of expression is distinguished by strong opinions and numerous warnings. There is growing unrest about freedom of expression as the foundation of truth-seeking, knowledge, democracy and the formation of opinion.

How employers and employees manoeuvre under the new circumstances in The Norwegian pension reform.

Do older workers find the transition to working from home more difficult?

Voluntary organizations in local emergency management

Good coordinated cooperation with voluntary actors is often needed to deal with emergency events such as floods, forest fires or searching for missing persons. The research project studies the role of voluntary actors in local emergency response and rescue work in Norway and Denmark.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

Changes in organisational structure and social inequality in management.This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

Behavioral adaptations to the new pension system and their consequences in a lifetime perspective.

The project aims to understand the health consequences of gender differences in school performance and examine whether they are explained by differences in timing of physical maturity between girls and boys.

Focuses on employer organisations, trade unions and collective agreements.

How should the municipality safeguard citizens’ opportunities to express their faith or life-stance? In this project, we conduct a survey among citizens in Oslo about their expectations towards public authorities’ role in facilitating participation in religious and life-related services and activities (in nursing homes, in public schools and in other areas of social life).

The project aims to contribute with knowledge about Oslo municipality role as a supporter and facilitator of the voluntary work, through a survey among voluntary associations in Oslo.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Labour Market.

Dynamics and processes for transformational change across scales.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

How does the law assess, address, shape and produce the vulnerabilities of the protection seekers?

The umbrella project NORPOL is a collection of researcher-initiated sub-projects. The aim is to analyse whether Norwegian society is being polarized – and, if so, how.

Attitudes, experiences, discrimination and practices

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

This project is part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

The project is part of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

Not wanted, not able or not willing? About culture, career choices, opportunities and valuation of competence and responsibility.

A study of the service chain for unaccompanied minor refugees.

New Pension System: Legitimacy, Behavioural Effects and Sustainability.

Research and contribution to policy development in the areas of migration, asylum, border control and integration.

EU migrant workers and the access to social security.

Consequences for Participation and Democracy.

Literature review of national and international research.

This project is a part of the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

Norwegian’s attitudes on immigration and integration.

Putting it to the Test of the Labour Market.

Meaning, contest and power

A Longitudinal and Comparative Approach

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

volunteerism, membership, structure, economic factors, social capital and motives for volunteering

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

– a qualitative approach

– an overview

Data collection

This project has been a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

This project is a part of Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

Mechanisms for inclusion and drop-out

(Phase 2)

Incentives and effects on the voluntary sector

- an overview

Generational and lifecycle explanations for youth attitudes on volunteering

Small group Instruction in Mathematics for Pupils Level 1-4.

Comparative analysis of policy making, public discourse and service quality.

Changes in practices, processes and resource allocation in the goverment of welfare.

Comparative Perspectives and Welfare State Challenges

Elite unity and elite/mass correspondence or widended gaps?

FP7-SSH-2013-2

- omfang, konsekvenser og tiltak

A Comparative Study of the Elections in Sweden and Norway 2013

Regional imbalances and labormarket flows.

Consequences of private and nonprofit service provision for active citizenship

Interests, Fairness, and Social Capital in Context

The project´s objective is to describe and assess to what extend and how prevailing regulations, routines and procedures of the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), the police and the foreign service missions are in accordance with the State's obligations as established by article 12 on the right of participation in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

- Preliminary work