Flexit is a project that seeks new, flexible solutions to spread research and researchers outside higher education institutions (HEIs). Its main purposes are:

• To build bridges between humanities and social sciences (HSS) research and companies and organisations outside academia.
• To facilitate knowledge exchange and encourage contacts so that more non-academic organisations can perceive and profit from the expertise of postdoctoral HSS specialists.

We also hope, through this programme, to point out alternative career opportunities for HSS researchers. In the long term, RJ seeks to influence the academic merit system so that academia values experience from the business world more highly, and vice versa.

Experience to date has been very good, both for the host establishments and for the researchers. In the new version of Flexit, we hope to enhance academic institutions' involvement in the programme and bridge-building. After an evaluation of the Flexit pilot project, RJ has opened the programme to senior researchers as well and organised the positions so that the researcher is employed at the host establishment (company or organisation) for two years, followed by a year at an HEI. Accordingly, applicants must have established affiliations to their departments by the time of the application.

The organisations taking part in this Flexit call are:
Executive Management Office, City of Helsingborg, , Cultural Administration, Region Skåne, Riksteatern and The Swedish Agency for Accessible Media.

Below, they describe the research areas that interest them. As a prospective Flexit researcher, your task is to transform the issues into an inspiring and practical research plan. Get in touch with the contact persons for the organisations concerned to discuss your ideas and so that you can draw up a research plan with a realistic budget.

You are welcome to contact current Flexit researchers as well.

Presentations

Research on the introduction of welfare technology in health care and social services
FoU i Väst/Municipal Associations of the Gothenburg Region (GR)

Digitisation has a major impact on the development of society. It also affects human health and welfare and provides opportunities to develop existing and new welfare technology. Welfare technology already in use or under development should be able to contribute to active and healthy ageing. This technology includes digital tools designed to maintain or increase security, activity, participation or independence for an individual who has or who is at increased risk of having a disability.

Municipalities need to take better advantage of the opportunities that digitisation and welfare technologies offer to manage future financing of welfare and respond to citizens' demands for participation and accessibility. It is particularly important to promote health and develop preventive measures for the elderly in situations where welfare technology can contribute to new, more effective ways of working and smarter services that support the independence, sense of safety and participation of the elderly. This can prevent or delay the need for intervention.

Examples of relevant questions:

• How can welfare technology and digital services be used to increase the participation, independence and sense of safety of the elderly? Promote healthy aging? Prevent and delay the need for intervention?
• What obstacles and opportunities arise when implementing and using welfare technology in municipal health care and social services (geriatric care)?
• What are the effects of municipal health promotion and preventive measures for the elderly, with particular focus on welfare technology?

Are you interested in conducting research on this and upholding the practice-based perspective? Within the framework of Riksbankens Jubileumsfond's Flexit initiative, we are seeking a committed researcher who wants to contribute to developing knowledge in close collaboration with municipalities in the Gothenburg region. In the application we would like you to write a research plan that describes how you would like to address any of the above questions or other questions that you consider to be important in this context. Applicants can have a doctoral degree in the health sciences, business administration, philosophy, sociology, public administration, education, work science, psychology, political science, social work or another relevant subject. Please describe how you plan to translate research results into concrete practice.

FoU I Väst (R&D in the West) engages in practice-based research and development work in the field of welfare along with and on behalf of the municipalities in the Municipal Association of the Gothenburg Region (GR). We bring together research and practice, and we support the development of a knowledge-based practice in which decisions and initiatives are based on a balancing of research, the wishes and needs of users, and the knowledge and experience of professionals. Our work is done in close collaboration with municipalities, university colleges, universities and other stakeholders in society.

Read more at www.grkom.se/fouivast

Contacts
Telephone: Anna Haglund, head of planning
Email: anna.haglund@goteborgsregionen.se
+46 (0)31 335 51 76

Margareta Forsberg, head of R&D
Telephone: +46 (0)31 335 51 33
Email: margareta.forsberg@goteborgsregionen.se

The role of school superintendents – research on management changes in the school system*
FoU Skola, Skåne Association of Local Authorities and Svedala Municipality, Educational Administration

On 1 July 2018 a new regulation in the Education Act clearly states that the accountable authority is to designate a school superintendent to assist the authority in ensuring that the regulations governing education are followed in the authority’s activities within the school system (the Education Act 2010:800). The act leaves room for interpretations of who can be appointed as the school superintendent and the skills required to carry out the assignment. The possibility of differing interpretations of the act are reflected in the various municipalities and independent schools in southern Sweden, where the superintendent’s role takes different forms. Municipalities have one or more superintendents who occupy different positions in the organisation.

The introduction of superintendent entails a change in the school system’s organisation because an additional official (besides the headmaster) receives a state mandate at the municipal level. This can lead to tensions in implementing the assignment. Employment as a municipality official, such as administrative officer or operations manager, involves implementing the municipality’s policy decisions, while the assignment as superintendent involves ensuring that the regulations regarding education are followed.

To understand what this change means for the school system, we need to increase our collective knowledge about the consequences introduction of the superintendent’s role in municipality activities have in practice. Practice-based research on management changes in the school can provide valuable knowledge that can contribute to the development of schools.

Examples of relevant questions:

• What significance does the introduction of the superintendent have for the school’s management and development and the quality of education?
• How do superintendents themselves perceive their role and importance of the school’s development?
• What is the best way to design the role of the superintendent to promote the school’s development?
• What new power relationships within the school’s organisation are created and how does the accountable authority manage them?
• How does the design of the superintendent’s role and assignment affect the needs and circumstances of the municipalities?

If you are interested in these questions, you are welcome to apply for a position as a Flexit researcher at the collaborative organisation FoU Skola (R&D School) at the Skåne Association of Local Authorities. We are seeking a researcher who can contribute knowledge about leadership and school development and is interested in practice-based research and the co-production of knowledge. In your application, we want you to write a research plan describing how you would like to address any of the above questions. Alternatively, you can approach the problem from a different perspective. Please describe how you plan to translate research results into concrete practice.

Applicants can have a doctoral degree in fields such as educational sciences specialising in leadership, sociology, business administration and human geography or political science specialising in the school or some other relevant subject.

You will be part of FoU Skola – a regional collaborative organisation within the Skåne Association of Local Authorities among Skåne’s 33 municipalities together with Sölvesborg Municipality in Blekinge, universities/university colleges and other education providers in the preschool/school system. The aim is to develop collaboration in R&D among municipalities and universities and to help create the prerequisites for professional development on a disciplinary foundation. A steering group consisting of the superintendents from Skåne’s three “corners” (northwest, southwest and east) and from the city of Malmö is the main sponsor of the assignment and decides on the direction of FoU Skola. FoU Skola is led and coordinated by a research director assigned to the Skåne Association of Local Authorities in Lund.

Until further notice, Leadership on a Scholarly Foundation is the field of work that has highest priority for FoU Skola. Within the framework of this field, FoU Skola has established collaborative structures with the superintendents and operations managers in Skåne and Sölvesborg. Most of the superintendents are part of existing organisations, which will be adapted in connection with the development of the superintendent’s role.

You will be assigned to Svedala Municipality, one of the municipalities that are part of FoU Skola. By being in one of the municipalities, you will be able to observe close at hand the municipal activities and role of the superintendent while you simultaneously have access to all the collaborative structures for superintendents via FoU Skola.

Read more about FoU Skola, Skåne Association of Local Authorities

Read more about Svedala Municipality and its school development work

Contact
Elena Zukauskaite, PhD, Research Director, FoU Skola, Skåne Association of Local Authorities
Telephone.: +46 (0)728-85 48 21
Email: elena.zukauskaite@kfsk.se

Research on media innovation and democratic driving forces
Lindholmen Science Park AB

Without private gain, Lindholmen Science Park is a company that offers a development environment in which stakeholders from industry, academia and society join in operating several of Sweden's leading research and innovation projects.

Media & Democracy is one of the national research and innovation programmes led by Lindholmen Science Park. In particular, media organisations and the university together conduct experimental projects involving media innovation and social science research to strengthen journalism, public discourse and democracy.

Lindholmen Science Park's latest establishment is AI Innovation of Sweden, which has been tasked with stimulating the practical application of artificial intelligence by sharing knowledge and data and through co-location and collaborative projects.

With Media & Democracy and AI Innovation of Sweden as platforms, we want to develop knowledge in the interface among media innovation, digitisation, AI and the democratic mission of journalism and media companies. The challenge relates to the development of media and democracy concurrently with the influence of artificial intelligence, digital technologies and digital patterns of behaviour on current structures and values.

Examples of relevant questions:

• How do journalists, media executives and media owners view democratic perspectives and driving forces in the current needs for development and innovation?
• How evident and prioritised are the perspectives and motivations in the actual development and innovation processes?
• What attitude do journalists, editorial directors, media executives and media owners have towards AI in journalism and in relation to the public?

Are you interested in conducting research about this? We are seeking a committed researcher who is interested in practice-based research and in co-production of knowledge. In your application, include a research plan that describes how you would like to address any of the questions. We would also like to point out that we are open to suggestions for other perspectives and relevant questions. Please also describe your thoughts on how research results can be transferred into concrete practice.

We envision that you have a doctoral degree in media studies, communication studies, philosophy, business administration, behavioural science, political science, sociology and social work, but we are also open to other relevant subjects.

The position is located at Lindholmen Science Park AB, which has its headquarters at Lindholmspiren in Gothenburg. You will join a unique company and a development environment with wide-ranging expertise and networks and with a strong involvement on a scale from small to world-class research and innovation projects. The assignment includes work near one or more media groups and companies that Media & Democracy and AI Innovation of Sweden cooperate with, such as Gota Media and Hall media. This means that practical work will take place to a large extent at media companies.

Read more at:
lindholmen.se
medierochdemokrati.lindholmen.se
ai.se

Contact
Martin Holmberg, Programme Director, Media & Democracy, Lindholmen Science Park
Telephone.: +46 (0)31-764 70 61
E-mail: martin.holmberg@lindholmen.se

Research on welfare production by non-profit organisations
Save the Children

Save the Children is a 100-year-old organisation dedicated to ensuring that the rights of children are respected. For about 30 years its mission in Sweden has been carried out mainly through influencing public opinion and advocacy. A democratically structured member movement ensures democratically-based decision-making, and an organisation made up of salaried employees develops new activities. The organisation’s mission is to promote meeting the needs and rights of the most vulnerable children. The organisation finances its activities through extensive collection of funds from private individuals, corporate partnerships and governmental and multilateral aid for its international efforts.

During earlier stages, Save the Children adapted its role according to the needs of the surrounding society. In the last few decades, we perceive a changed role for civil society in Sweden and an increase in the number of voluntary organisations and not-for-profit participants that want to develop different types of welfare activities. When public welfare falls short and when the social contract is renegotiated, Save the Children wants to start and operate nongovernmental welfare activities to support the target groups of children we believe are living in the most vulnerable situations.

An organisation assuming a role as a welfare producer faces a number of new challenges. There is a clear need for building in-depth knowledge of how change processes can be understood and managed, especially regarding leadership and decision-making.

Examples of relevant questions:

What leadership is needed to integrate welfare provision in Save the Children’s current structure, while maintaining a popular movement perspective? The use of business logic when the organisation becomes a provider of welfare will interact with the general logic emanating from the Save the Children member organisation. How is a non-profit board of directors to assess risks and set priorities in a highly specialised and professional organisation?

What new power relationships emerge among the organisation’s various parts when Save the Children takes on a new role as welfare provider? The Save the Children Board, elected from a democratic popular movement, is to make strategic decisions that involve areas of responsibility that are assigned to a board of directors at many other organisations. How should the decision-making process be organised to allow the elected board to have sufficient insight into, control of, and follow-up of the parts of the organisation that take a corporate form, for example, or other forms existing alongside the non-profit association?

How does the organisation communicate its mission? Both internal and external communication needs to express the organisation’s fundamental identity as an advocate for children’s rights. What logic and concepts are used to describe its welfare activities? Business logic and acting on a market lead to the use of market/business administration concepts. Save the Children expresses its member-controlled activities with civil society concepts.

How is responsibility assigned for the professional activities of those democratically elected to the national board and at the organisation’s national annual meeting? What insight and influence are members permitted in activities governed by employees and that in some cases are performed in other forms of association than the non-profit association?

Are you interested in conducting research about this? Within the framework of Riksbankens Jubileumsfond’s Flexit initiative, we are seeking a committed researcher who is interested in practice-based research and in collaborating with Save the Children in developing knowledge within the area described. The application is to include a research plan that describes how you would like to address any of the questions. But you can also choose to approach the area from another perspective. Please describe your thoughts on how to translate research results into concrete practice.

We envision that you have a doctoral degree in behavioural science, business administration or social work or conduct research on civil society development, communication science or innovation, but we are also open to other relevant subjects.

The research will be conducted within Save the Children’s Sweden Programme. The position can be located either in Stockholm or Malmö.

Read more at: www.raddabarnen.se

Contact
Göran Holmström, project manager of non-governmental welfare, Sweden Programme
Telephone: +46 (0)733-553504
Email: goran.holmstrom@rb.se

Structure of Flexit positions

The positions are for a maximum of three years, and consist of 75% research and 25% service first at the host establishment and thereafter at the HEI department. RJ funds salary costs and other expenses relating to the research, while the host establishment pays salary for the remainder of the position and bears the costs of office workspace, office infrastructure and various benefits at the workplace. For the first two years, the host establishment is the employer and appoints a contact person for the researcher, who is based on the premises as an in-house researcher but is expected to retain and develop contacts and knowledge exchange with academia.

During the third year of the project, the researcher is based at an HEI department, continues the research in the Flexit project and maintains contacts with the host establishment. During the third year, when the researcher is located at the academic department, RJ's grants cover indirect costs and costs of premises.

Who is eligible to apply?

The applicant must have obtained a doctoral degree in a subject in humanities or social sciences (HSS) by the application date. The applicant should also have good social skills and good networks both inside and outside the research community.

Application

Every researcher must send in a certificate from an HEI department. This letter must bear the signature of the head of department or equivalent and reach RJ not later than the deadline, which is 4:00 pm on 8 June 2019. The certificate must also be included with the application and placed after the application letter and CV under the heading 'Publications'.

The head of department's certificate (in Word) should also contain information about what the affiliation will include during the first two years of the Flexit project (a maximum grant of SEK 30,000 a year is payable for administrative costs of affiliation during the first two years of the project). Affiliation should include access to library services, copying facilities and some administrative assistance. The certificate from the department also guarantees that the department has the intention of employing the researcher during the third year of the project.

Selection process

After an expert review, organised by RJ, interviews will be conducted during September 2019. The contact persons at the host establishments (companies and organisations) will invite applicants to interviews, and any allowance for travel expenses will be paid by RJ. The positions will be filled between 1 January 2019 and 1 June 2020.

The application system will be open from 3 May 2019. Applications must reach RJ by 4:00 pm on 18 June 2019.

Applications are submitted via rj.se. Read the instructions under 'Make an application' to the right.

• Specify the host establishment for your position in the heading and the application letter. Under the heading 'Publikationer' ('Publications'), you should place the head of department's certificate, a CV (describing your qualifications, including an account of your connection with a Swedish HEI), names of referees and a brief list of publications. Under 'Anslagsförvaltare' ('Grant administrator'), specify the HEI department that will host you. Specify the HEI's employer's social- insurance contribution top-up rate (LKP). The salary you state in the application must be based on current salary, which also applies during the project (including the customary salary revision). The same thing applies to the budget item 'Drift' ('Operating costs'). The operating costs specified under the heading Comments on the budget need to be well founded and are (if approved) the ones that will apply to the project.
• For every project grant, RJ also awards an internationalisation grant. This grant may be used for research stays abroad, inviting foreign research colleagues, national and international conference travel, and language editing of material in languages other than Swedish. Accordingly, do not list these costs in your application.
• RJ also grants funding for publication with open access. These costs should therefore not be listed in the application either.
• Apart from your personal letter, the head of department's certificate (in Word) and your CV, the application should contain titles and summaries in Swedish and English, and a research plan with particulars of the research that the applicant wishes to conduct, on the basis of the research area specified by the company or organisation (under the heading Project description).
• The research plan should cover the purpose, disposition, theory, method and implementation of the research and potential contribution to the international research frontline. The plan should also clarify how the researcher is planning to strengthen ties and facilitate knowledge exchange between academia and companies and organisations. The plan may not exceed 20,000 characters, including spaces, in length.

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the research is compatible with the ethical guidelines laid down by the Swedish Research Council, and that ethical assessment is carried out where required.

If you have any questions about the positions, contact Torbjörn Eng, torbjorn.eng@rj.se, phone +46-(0)8-50 62 64 22, but also the host establishment concerned and its contact person.