Resilience in Sweden: Governing, Social Networks and Learning

In a new five-year research program CSR will study how society can handle the impacts of a changing climate and remain resilient. Resilient here meaning an ability to retain steering and control and society's vital functions.

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Resilience is a concept that in recent years has become established in the field of risk and safety, in science as well as practice. It is however a problematic concept, not in the least because its number of definitions range in the number of users and that its applications span from the resilience of individuals to global issues such as climate change.  

Resilience is commonly used in the context of global issues or extreme conditions such as areas under extreme poverty, food deprivation, disastrous natural events or political instability. Since the concept has become established it is of great importance to study how it is understood and applied in a Swedish or Nordic context. Studies of resilience require research where knowledge from different disciplines and research fields are integrated but also where researchers and practitioners work together. 

 

- The unique approach of this program combining three quite different empirical fields, seldom studied together, will yield a deeper understanding of societal resilience, says Mikael Granberg, director of CSR.

The primary target group of the outcomes of this research program is actors involved in processes with the objective to increase societal resilience such as local government, County administrative boards, national authorities, networks and other organizations the impact, or are impacted by, society’s actions aiming at increased societal resilience.

- This research will contribute to societal utility by increasing the theoretical knowledge and academic understanding of societal resilience, but also through concrete and practical advice on what actions that is needed in terms of changed or reformed legislation, decision making processes, models of collaboration, organizational structures, etc., says Mikael Granberg

Resilience in Sweden: Governing, Social Networks and Learning is funded by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB and is a collaboration between the Risk and Crisis Research Centre, RCR at the Mid-Sweden university, the Swedish Defence University and the Centre for Societal Risk Research at Karlstad university.

The project funds one PhD student and three senior researchers at CSR.

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Author: andrpett@kau.se
Last update: 2024-02-05
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