Research Profile

Knowledge has become an increasingly important aspect of public policy, administration and social life in general. This is a global tendency, in particular in modern affluent societies with a comprehensive public sector. The importance of knowledge has two key components.

The first component concerns the knowledge basis of contemporary policy-making which increasingly relies on data, evidence and expertise. Free research and knowledge development, and open public discussions about and relying on scientific knowledge are inextricably linked to democracy as a form of government and to making effective policies dealing with a variety of societal challenges, including climate change,  migration, sustainable economic growth, clean energy, ageing and health, security issues, etc. At the same time research based knowledge, and the assumption that it is based on methods and validation that make it particularly transparent and trustworthy is increasingly challenged. Labels such as “fake news” and “alternative truth” that have emerged point to strategic and opportunistic use of knowledge, including the (ab)use of knowledge claims (be they scientific or not) by various actors to legitimize particular interests or ideologies.

The second component concerns the position of knowledge institutions. Universities, colleges, research institutions, schools and kindergartens are no longer regarded just as important characteristics of modern, democratic societies, but as strategic institutions and productive forces for the development of competitive strength and the maintenance of advanced knowledge-based welfare societies. The shift towards seeing and developing our societies and economies as knowledge based also means that many actors have increasingly strong interests into how knowledge institutions are governed, how much resources they have, where do these resources come from and whether and how allocation of resources is linked to various measures of performance. 

Thus, when policies and administration increasingly is presumed to be knowledge based, when institutions for higher-and vocational education provide the major part of entrants on the labor market, when business life becomes ever more dependent on highly qualified labor with the competency to deliver research based products, it all mirrors how crucial the position of the knowledge dimension of policies and administration has become. It affects the population on a steadily increasing number of areas and the actors who deliver and utilize knowledge such as ministries, other civil service agencies, higher education and research institutions, think tanks, private consultancies, other private companies and voluntary organizations.

In order to shed light on the different ways knowledge matters for politics and organization, group members focus on a range of topics, studying of use and abuse of knowledge in administration and governance are based in various policy sectors (e.g. health, climate and environmental policies), and how politics and administration contribute to knowledge development and transmission – from kindergarten, via the school system to higher education and research.  Group members’ work is based on theories of public policy and administration, such as organization theory, theory of democracy and theory of professions. It investigates the tensions between institutional autonomy and professional discretion on the one hand and demands from superior authorities and government control on the other. It investigates these issues in the national Norwegian context, as well as using cross national comparative studies and studies of international organizations.

Since KPO was established in 2007, members of the research group have published a large number of journal articles, book chapters and books; several books by international publishers such as Ashgate, Palgrave Macmillan, Peter Lang, Routledge, Springer and Taylor & Francis as well as articles in journals like Organization Studies, Public Management Review, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Policy and Society, Higher Education and Higher Education Policy. Members of the group are represented in the editorial team of Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift (Norwegian Journal of Political Science) and on the editorial boards of journals such as Higher Education, European Journal of Education and Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier (Nordic Organizational Studies). The group is part of a well-developed network of national and international research institutions.