The Research Centre has a social science profile and brings together parts of VIA’s cross-disciplinary research in areas such as diversity, minorities, technology, digitalisation, social robots, welfare technologies, organisation, and leadership at the intersection of public and non-public organisations.
At the research centre, we are particularly interested in how administrative reforms and policy frameworks shape and support encounters between citizens, professionals, and leaders. We also explore how robots and digital technologies are integrated into everyday life, creating new conditions for the relationships that develop. These developments raise both ethical and professional questions, particularly as solutions increasingly involve technology and digital media.
Another key area of interest concerns the ethical dimensions of working with minorities. A guiding principle in the centre is to examine how identity is shaped both by linguistic structures and through human interactions—where values and norms may, at times, require a norm-critical perspective.
A third area of focus in the centre is the relationship between culture and health. We explore how cultural initiatives can be integrated into healthcare and treatment contexts. With a constructive and developmental approach, we examine how aesthetic means and the arts can make a difference for patients, professionals, and relatives involved in care pathways.
A central thread running through the centre’s work is the use of creative and alternative analyses of welfare solutions in context. We offer fresh perspectives on contemporary reforms and policies, with the aim of charting new directions for practice. Our work is problem-driven.
The research centre collaborates closely with practitioners, educational programmes, and research environments within VIA, as well as with other knowledge institutions both in Denmark and internationally. Grounded in strong theoretical foundations, we seek to uncover surprising perspectives on welfare solutions that might otherwise appear to be fully thought through.