Norwegian version

About NOVA

Blue background and white line-drawing of persons.

Researchers in numbers

Researchers
60
Research Professors
23
PhD candidates
7

The institute is one of four at the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research at OsloMet.

NOVA's research is centred around Norwegian society, but international projects form a growing and important part of our research portfolio. The aim of the institute is to develop knowledge and understanding of social conditions and processes of change.

We focus on events that occur across the life cycle, living conditions and different aspects of quality of life, as well as on programmes and services provided by the welfare system.

Within its fields, NOVA carries out research projects commissioned by public and private sector clients.

The institute is the leading national research institute on issues related to child welfare, youth and ageing.

See NOVA's strategy for 2023—2026.

NOVA contact information

Key research areas

Research departments

About the staff

NOVA has a highly competent and multidisciplinary staff of researchers. Sociology is the most common discipline represented by our researchers, but you will also find psychologists, economists, political scientists, social anthropologists, criminologists, human geographers, and historians, among others.

Our administrative staff are highly skilled in project management, including management of internationally funded projects, research dissemination, and other kinds of administrative support.

NOVA's leadership team

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Cooperation

NOVA cooperates closely with other Norwegian and European research institutes and universities, as well as with civil society organizations and public authorities. NOVA researchers publish in international academic journals, produce reports in Norwegian and English and they are regular contributors to the public debate.

Among our clients are the EU (Horizon 2020), public funders in the EEA Norway Grants’ countries, The Nordic Council of Ministers, The Research Council of Norway and several government departments and directorates. As a rule, research conducted at NOVA is of a high international standard.

The institute has extensive experience with EU projects, including as a coordinator, work package leader, partner and sub-contractor. We coordinate the EU projects European Labour Markets under pressure (Paths2Include), and Strategies for Achieving Equity and Inclusion in Education, Training and Learning in Democratic Europe (STRIDE) and is a partner in several other EU funded projects, for example Sustainability Performances, Evidence and Scenarios (SPES). We have been partners in the recently completed projects DigiGenEUROSHIP, YouCount, and DARE. Former projects NOVA coordinated include the NEGOTIATE (negotiate-research.no) and DISCIT projects.

NOVA's history

NOVA was established on 1 July 1996 through a fusion of the following research institutions:

  • Child Welfare Development Centre (BVU), established in 1980
  • Institute for Social Research (INAS), established in 1966
  • Norwegian Gerontological Institute (NGI), established in 1957
  • Programme for Research on Youth (UNGforsk), established in 1990

In 2014, NOVA became a part of what was then known as Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences – today known as OsloMet. Here, NOVA along with the Work Research Institute (AFI) made up the Centre for Welfare and Labour Research (SVA). In 2016, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) and National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) joined the SVA Centre. In 2018, the university college became OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

NOVA continues to carry out its research activity both nationally and internationally as part of OsloMet.

Natalie Rogoff Ramsøy (1924–2002)

In 2018, the street address Stensberggt. 26 was named after Natalie R. Ramsøy as part of a newly-established tradition at OsloMet to name the university’s new buildings after historical figures, and women in particular, whose work has had a significant influence on its different academic disciplines.

Ramsøy was the first head of the Institute for Social Research (INAS), one of the institutions that later formed NOVA.

Ramsøy was a pioneer in social research, chiefly thanks to her contributions to developing the applied social research in Norway. She was particularly enthusiastic about bringing together what we today regard as quality and relevance. She also contributed to producing a Norwegian history of the professions and to the development of the national census database. Ramsøy is known for her research on social mobility and sociology of professions during the period from 1950 until 1990. Through her contacts with social research colleagues in the U.S., Ramsøy was able to contribute greatly to the Norwegian social research field.

NOVA honored Ramsøy in 2003 with a seminar and a book in her honour.