Partners-in-Care: Municipal Health Care Research and Innovation School

You can apply if you are a doctoral candidate from a university in Norway. Applicants from partner institutions are given priority.

You can also apply if you are a doctoral candidate from a Nordic country, however admission is subject to availability.

Application deadline: 1. December.

We accept applications once a year, as our candidates will work together as a group in our courses and webinars.

Send in your application (nettskjema.no). It must include

• a brief project summary (max 300 words)
• a publication plan
• your financing
• an explanation for why the project is relevant for municipal health care research and innovation
• your motivation for applying to the research school
• documentation of acceptance or submitted application to a PhD programme before 15 November (PDF)
• recommendation letter from your main supervisor (PDF)
• the full project plan (PDF)

Doctoral candidates accepted into the research school will follow a mandatory, structured two year programme consisting of two doctoral courses and eight webinars.

The programme starts with an introductory course/workshop during the first spring semester. The course focuses on research and knowledge needs to promote living well across the lifespan.

Following the course, four webinars will be conducted during the next year. Here, the doctoral candidates will discuss relevant theoretical and methodological issues related to their individual projects as well as how their work may contribute to innovation within the municipal health care and related sectors.

A second course will be offered the next spring, focusing on how to translate and lead the implementation of sustained change in the municipal sector. The mandatory programme ends with four webinars which aim to promote discussion of the quality and relevance of the participants’ doctoral projects.

In addition to the mandatory programme, the research school will offer diverse elective activities aimed at supporting the doctoral candidates in their scientific development and in developing work-related qualifications.

The research school will also offer activities directed towards supervisors, leaders and others in the municipal health and care services responsible for facilitating research and implementing research-based innovations and researchers conducting research into the municipal sector.

The main focus of the research and innovation school is on promoting sustainable health and welfare in municipalities, viewed from a life-course perspective. Our municipal partners have identified the following key focus areas:

Promote inclusion and reduce isolation

Promote health, education, work capacity, functioning, and quality of life of vulnerable citizens and families across the lifespan.

This requires collaboration across various sectors including health and care services, schools, childcare, social services, employment, and community planning.

Sustainable health and care services

Develop and implement health and care services that can sustainably support a growing and increasingly complex population of older adults and others with long-term needs, amidst challenges such as limited access to qualified personnel and restricted economic resources.

Innovative collaboration models

Create and implement innovative collaboration models across different municipal sectors and the third sector to broaden the use of available services and resources, addressing major service delivery challenges.

Enhance healthcare collaboration

Address significant barriers that hinder collaboration between specialist and primary healthcare services to improve treatment efficiency, discharge processes, collaboration, and prevent unnecessary (re)hospitalizations.

Research and innovation competence

Ensure sufficient research and innovation competence and capacity within municipalities to support research-informed service innovation and delivery.

Shared innovation and research activities: Collaborate on and share innovation and research activities and solutions across sectors and municipalities to eliminate redundant work and conserve resources.

Maintain relevance of research school

Ensure that the research school remains relevant to the dynamic and evolving landscape of municipal challenges and priorities through consistent municipal involvement in its planning and implementation.

The main objectives of the research and innovation school are to

• enhance the skills and competencies of PhD candidates in research that addresses municipal challenges, including supporting the development of work skills needed to initiate, facilitate and evaluate the implementation of research-based innovations in the municipal sector
• support leaders and staff within municipal sectors to effectively lead and engage in research and innovation
• foster methodological innovation by creating research that is internationally robust yet locally applicable, thus enhancing the relevance and impact of findings
• establish a collaborative platform to secure funding for research that addresses municipal research needs and encourages cross-sectorial collaboration
• support the development and activities of the Regional Strategic Organizations

Municipal partners

• Østre Agder Collaboration: Kristin Jeppestøl
• Vestvågøy Municipality: Trude Hartviksen
• Bergen Municipality: Anne Marita Milde
• Oslo Municipality: Unni Hembre and Thomas Bernard Thiis-Evensen
• Lillestrøm Municipality

Academic partners

• OsloMet: Marit Kirkevold and Line Kildal Bragstad
• UiT The Arctic University of Norway: Bodil H. Blix
• Western Norway University of Applied Sciences: Marjolein M. Iversen and Bente Egge Søvde
• University of Agder: Brooke Hollister
• VID Specialized University: Nina Jøranson and Malene Brekke

Other key partners

• Norwegian Health Association: Anne Rita Øksengård
• Norwegian Women's Public Health Association: Elisabeth Swärd
• The Norwegian Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (FFO): Andreas Habberstad
• Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital: Maren Falch Lindberg