Pluralisation, the welfare state and civil associations

In an era of diversity, the expansive and universalistic Norwegian welfare state faces new challenges. In this situation, a growing variety of civil associations is highly important. On the one hand they articulate more diverse interests and may consequently put more pressure on the welfare state. On the other hand, they may contribute to the solution of welfare problems by giving new inputs to the development of public policies, by improving the implementation of policies, and by providing self-initiated welfare services. The growing number and variety of civil associations thus has implications for the future of the welfare state. The project analyses how these associations relate to issues of social welfare in the present pluralist situation. Four sub-projects address the research topic from different angles and complement each other: 1. 'Innovation or standardisation within welfare services?' on the changing relations and interface between the civil and public sectors when it comes to production of welfare services. 2. 'Migrants, civil associations, religion and the welfare state' on how migrant/religious associations relate to welfare, as service providers and/or by giving input to policy-making. 3. 'Organised interests and welfare policy in a pluralised society' on how the associations of civil society and public authorities face the need for new ways of interaction and intermediation in the process of developing and implementing welfare policies in an increasingly diverse society. 4. 'Comparative perspectives on the role of civil associations in the Norwegian welfare state' takes the findings from Norway and discuss these in relation to developments in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and UK. Sub-projects 1 and 2 include interviews with representatives of civil society associations and public authorities, while sub-project 3 analyses public documents related to selected policy-making processes. A survey among civil society associations was carried out in 2017-18 in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector. The project combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Sociology, political science, organisation theory, economy and theology/religious studies constitute the multidisciplinary researcher group. International partners/scholars from the universities of Aarhus, Stockholm, Uppsala and Warwick participate in the project. See video and presentations (in Norwegian and English) at dissemination conference in Oslo, November 2018 here: https://www.samfunnsforskning.no/sivilsamfunn/aktuelt/arrangementer/mangfold-velferdsstat-og-frivillighet.html

Prosjektet bidrar med økt kunnskap om og forståelse av de utfordringene som en velferdsstat basert på universelle ordninger, møter i et samfunn der det kulturelle og etniske mangfoldet øker. Det belyser hvordan frivillige organisasjoner kan bidra i både utforming, tilpasning og iverksetting av velferdspolitiske tiltak. I tillegg til bidragene til forskningen på feltet, er prosjektet særlig relevant for offentlige myndigheter og frivillige organisasjoner.

In an era of diversity, the expansive and universalistic Norwegian welfare state faces new challenges. In this situation, a growing variety of civil associations is highly important. On the one hand they articulate more diverse interests and may consequently put more pressure on the welfare state. On the other hand they may contribute to the solution of welfare problems by giving new inputs to the development of public policies, by improving the implementation of policies, and by providing self-initiated welfare services. The growing number and variety of civil associations thus has implications for the future of the welfare state. In this project we will study how these associations relate to issues of social welfare in the present pluralist situation. Four sub-projects address the research topic from different angles and complement each other: 1. 'Innovation or standardisation within welfare services?' focuses on the changing relations and interface between the civil and public sectors when it comes to production of welfare services. 2. 'Migrants, civil associations, religion and the welfare state' focuses on how migrant/religious associations relate to welfare, as service providers and/or by giving input to policy-making. 3. 'Organised interests and welfare policy in a pluralised society' focuses on how the associations of civil society and public authorities face the need for new ways of interaction and intermediation in the process of developing and implementing welfare policies in an increasingly diverse society. 4. 'Comparative perspectives on the role of civil associations in the Norwegian welfare state' takes the findings from Norway and discuss these in relation to the development in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and UK. The project combines qualitative and quantitative methods. It involves international partners. Sociology, political science, organisation theory, economy and theology/religious studies constitute the multidisciplinary researcher group.