How much does a company specialising in services such as Telenor invest in innovation? Researchers at the University of Oslo have contributed to changing how Telenor sees innovation.
Applied knowledge
When professor Willy Pedersen started researching substance abuse in the 1980s, everyone thought that harsh penalties were the solution. Now, The Liberal Party of Norway, The Conservative Party of Norway, The Norwegian Labour Party and The Norwegian Socialist Left Party all agree that drug policy needs to be changed.
Ever-increasing rapid changes are creating powerlessness and resentment as well as new opportunities all over the world. Through the Overheating project, Thomas Hylland Eriksen and several of his colleagues have investigated how globalisation is changing our homes, workplaces and future plans.
- We can reduce our vulnerability to extreme weather, says Karen O'Brien. She contributed crucial knowledge to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Economists at the University of Oslo have pointed out the dubious nature of prestigious rankings like the annual report of the World Bank, Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index and the UN’s Human Development Index.
All Norwegian fathers are now entitled to a minimum of one third of the total parental leave period. The Ellingsæter Commission would go further and split the parental period in two.
Applied knowledge
Social scientists at the University of Oslo are hard at work every day to understand how the world works. Their knowledge lays the foundation for new government policy, greater efficiencies for society, improved public services and a more environmentally sustainable future. This page provides just a few examples of how social science is being applied for the common good. Images in header from Colourbox og Unsplash.