Samverkan Gävleborg 2022.
The University of Gävle participates in the project Samverkan Gävleborg 2022, which aims to promote the integration of third-country nationals in Gävleborg County. With developed collaboration between actors, the project wants to contribute to a more efficient integration process, by taking advantage of methods and working methods that reduce the structural obstacles for the target group to establish themselves in society and get closer to the labor market. The project is led by the County Administrative Board of Gävleborg with partial funding from the European Union through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). Other participants are several municipalities in Gävleborg and RF-SISU.
During 2023-2025, the university will conduct three sub-studies. Sub-study 1 is a follow-up interview study of how third country nationals who have studied Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) have fared. Sub-study 2 is aimed at authorities and organizations working with recruitment, while sub-study 3 focuses on civil society and associations' involvement in the pursuit of integration.
The university project is led by Sven Trygged. Other researchers from HiG participating in the project are Maja Lilja and Hanna Kusterer.
Samverkan Gävleborg was preceded by the project Integration Gävleborg 2.0 (IG 2.0). A report from that project can be found here: Trygged, S., Kusterer, H. & Lilja, M. (2021). Integration Gävleborg 2.0 : Interview study on perceived opportunities and obstacles for labor market establishment for migrants with low education. Gävle: Gävle University Press. 32 p. (FOU report 55).
Other texts that address the topic of migration: Trygged, S & Righard, E (Eds.) (2019) Inequalities and migration - Challenges for the Swedish welfare state. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Textbook with international perspectives on current challenges for the Swedish welfare state. The anthology includes authors from a number of universities. Co-editor is Erica Righard, Malmö University.
Client empowerment and digital discretion
The digital transformation affects the welfare sector to a large extent. The main focus of this study is what digitalization means for clients seeking income support. The voices of social workers are also highlighted, as the experiences of staff and clients are linked. By finding out which digital tools are used, the entire digital infrastructure is made visible, including e-application, decision support using algorithms ("robots") and video meetings.
The study interviews clients, social workers and managers in municipalities of different sizes.
The project, which will be carried out during 2023-2024, is linked to the Digital shapeshifting research program at HiG.
Participants: Sven Trygged (project manager), Lupita Svensson, School of Social Work, Lund University, Agneta Ranerup, Department of Applied IT, University of Gothenburg.
Not without concern - the support and interventions of child welfare services
The social services are society's safety net for children who need protection and support. As a rule, the social services
become aware of children who are being abused when a person submits a so-called concern report
about the child concerned. Employees of certain authorities, such as schools and health care, are
obliged to report if they fear that a child is being abused in their work. Private individuals can also
report concerns.
The overall aim of the research is to increase systematic knowledge about the child welfare services' support and interventions for children where someone has reported a concern. This is done initially through a statistical mapping and analysis of the reasons why children are reported, what
interventions occur and what patterns emerge around reports and interventions. Social services staff are also interviewed.
The Allmänna Barnhuset Foundation has granted the project a planning grant for an in-depth study on children who witness violence. There is great interest in children who have witnessed violence, and in 2021, the offense of child abuse was introduced into legislation. The project started in 2023.
Participants: Tove Bylund Grenklo (health sciences), Niklas Halin (psychology), Anneli Marttila (public health science) and Sven Trygged (project manager, social work).
Trygged, S., Bylund-Grenklo, T., Marttila, A. & Halin, N. (2024). To See and Be Seen: A Swedish Register Study on Children Who Witness Family Violence. MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21 (10)
External link.
Supportive conversations
In 2022, the textbook Larsson, S & Trygged, S (editors) Supportive conversations, meetings and relationships in social work was published. Lund: Studentlitteratur. This anthology provides a theoretical and practical framework for how to conduct supportive conversations in client meetings in social work. The chapters are written by nationally and internationally experienced researchers and educators in social work.