Hedmark University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Public Health
Units included in the
evaluation of sociology
Faculty of Public Health:
- Dept. of Health Studies, Dept. of Dental Care and Public Health, and No. of PhD graduated at the institution per year
Male/Female -/- -/- -/-
R&D expenditures and sources of funding (1000 NOK) Total per year - - - No. of positions announced / No. of qualified applicants per year
January 1st 2017, Hedmark University of Applied Sciences (HUAS) and Lillehammer University College (LUC) merged and became Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN University).
The descriptions mainly refer to HUAS. Former LUC is also participating in SAMEVAL.
Source: The Research Council of Norway, Self-assessment report for the institution, 16/12960 .
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4.1 Sociology at the institutional level
The Faculty of Public Health at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences is part of the former Hedmark University of Applied Sciences (HUAS), which is the institution that is listed for the evaluation.
Resulting from a merger with Lillehammer University College (LUC), Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences was formally established in January 2017. Hedmark University of Applied Sciences dates back to 1994, when it was founded as a result of a merger between four state colleges in the region. The institution offered about 100 study programmes. The sociologists listed for this evaluation were associated with three of four different departments under the Faculty of Public Health.
Organisation, leadership and strategy
The institution is the result of a merger between HUAS and LUC in January 2017. It is therefore still in the throes of transition and is difficult to evaluate at the present time. The primary objectives of the institution are currently (1) to gain university status, (2) to enhance local and regional professional and economic competence.
Sociological work takes place in the new Faculty of Public Health, but there is no department of sociology or degree in sociology. Sociological research takes place in connection with public health, and the specialisations are sport sociology (the newly founded research group Sport and Culture in Society) and mental health. The numbers involved are small and there is no real need for strategy or strategic leadership given the level of resources available.
Institutional follow-up of previous evaluations
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Public Health has not been part of previous evaluations.
Resources and infrastructure
There are relatively few resources. Time is allocated for staff research (R&D) and there are small amounts of funding available. Two small grants from the RCN for 2016 are the main external grants.
There is some administrative support for research.
Research environment
The University provides a library and IT resources, and it is planning a digital technology centre, but there is no specific information that is relevant to the research environment for Sociology.
Research personnel
Research is conducted by staff engaged in a teaching programme in public health. One PhD student is currently in place, but no information is given about other dedicated research staff. Doctoral students are taught in association with other universities, but there are no such students under such arrangements in the sociological area at present. The intention is to expand PhD provision in the future.
Research production and scientific quality
Research production mainly takes place in the areas of (1) sport, and (2) the social science of mental health. The former involves three members of staff in association with three scholars at other institutions. With respect to the latter, it is said that ‘several groups’ are operating, and that the project on Recovery Oriented Green Care Services has involved several researchers and one PhD student. Both groups have international collaborators. A third strand of research, PE educational research and its relation to mental health, is identified.
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Five journal articles written by two members of staff and published between 2008 and 2017 were identified for assessment. They were published in outlets that are suitable for the research being conducted, but only one item is in a Level 2 journal. The overall publication record is low relative to the average for the units involved in the national assessment.
Assessment of scientific quality: 2 - fair
Interplay between research and education
Sociology is taught exclusively in support of other degrees in the field of public health. Appointments of sociologists are primarily made with an eye to covering teaching needs rather than for research purposes. Overall research is subordinate to teaching requirements. The university does have some schemes for supporting and encouraging research, however.
Societal relevance and impact
The primary objectives of the university are to contribute to the augmentation of local and professional competence (in which connection there is evidence of collaboration with local non-academic partners).
There are no means of evaluating success in the current evaluation. The main examples of impact (no impact study was submitted) were the dissemination of knowledge through reports, lectures and popular writings. The effects of such activities are always difficult to prove and there is a body of evidence that would suggest that this is not the most efficacious route to intervening in policy or achieving institutional change.
Overall assessment
This is a small pocket of sociological research nested within a larger organisation for the teaching of public health. Staff are largely appointed on the basis of teaching needs; hence, it is unsurprising that the research and scholarly writing undertaken is rather heterogeneous. Research funding is very limited at present. There is no focus that, at the current level of resources, would be likely to make an impact on international sociological research. There are two fields where research is proceeding with some success – sport and mental health in education. The volume and level of scholarly output is limited, as indicated by Appendix F.
Feedback
The SWOT analysis gave a realistic assessment of the strategic options and constraints facing the development of sociological research at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Public Health. Current priorities are no doubt ones associated with the merger and the founding of the university. The identified contribution to local competence is probably the most important one. At present, the resources required to make a significant contribution to sociological research at the international level are not available, and it would be a diversion from more feasible and more valuable activities to try to make this a primary objective. Building upon the existing two main fields of research – sport and mental health – may be the most effective strategy in the immediate future.
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