Petter Falk

My research primarily focuses on critical data studies and the datafication of welfare services.

I received my PhD in 2024 with a dissertation on the datafication of welfare services. As a researcher, I am affiliated with the Service Research Center at Karlstad University.

During 2025–2027, I am working 75% at Södertörn University in the project Digital Vulnerability in the Automated Welfare.

I have extensive experience teaching subjects related to public administration, governance and management, and data-driven technology in the welfare sector.

At Karlstad University, I regularly teach the following courses:

• Policy Analysis
• Welfare State Models
• Organizational Theory (for Public Care Professionals) 
• Planning as a Democratic Process

I also regularly contribute as a guest lecturer in the doctoral programme DIGIT in Norway and at Politecnico di Milano, focusing on digitalization, public administration, and critical perspectives on data and algorithmic systems.

At the national level, I have collaborated and led projects with actors such as the Government Offices of Sweden, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Transport Agency, the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Transport Administration, as well as with a large number of municipalities, regions and coordination associations. Within the framework of research and development projects, I have led and facilitated processes related to health data, the implementation of a new Social Services Act, data-driven governance, and the development of algorithmic systems in the public sector. Through my role at Karlstad University’s Samhällsnytta AB and previously at RISE, I have worked at the intersection of academia and practice, often in close dialogue with public decision-makers and public officials.

 Academically, I am active in interdisciplinary environments such as CTF – Service Research Center and the WASP-HS cluster The AI Welfare State, which brings together several Swedish universities. Internationally, I have established collaborations with Utrecht Data School, Politecnico di Milano, OsloMet and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

I received my PhD in 2024 with the dissertation Assemble care // Align data, an ethnographic study of the datafication of Swedish health and social care.

My research focuses on data and algorithmic systems in public administration and is situated at the intersection of public administration research and critical data studies. I am particularly interested in how welfare data are shaped, interpreted, and used in the development of automated decision-making systems and welfare technologies.

I have a background in municipal administration, as a consultant in analysis and policy investigation, and as a project manager in research and development projects at Research Institutes of Sweden. I have led several national projects in collaboration with the Government Offices of Sweden and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR).

Falk, P. (2026). Thinking Through Data: How Outliers, Aggregates, and Patterns Shape Perception (by Bak Herrie 2025) - Book Review,  Science & Technology Studies

Falk, P. (2024). Assemble care // Align data: An ethnographic study of datafication in Swedish public care. Karlstad University (doktorsavhandling). 

Falk, P. (2024) . Sharing, caring, and breaking silos: Ethics shopping in the intersection of domain logics and the interoperability of health data. Data Power Conference 2024, 

Falk P. (2024) DN Debatt. ”När data görs till gud blir läkare inget annat än tjänare”, Dagens Nyheter 2024 november 14, https://www.dn.se/debatt/nar-data-gors-till-gud-blir-lakare-inget-annat-an-tjanare/

Fahimi, M., Falk P., mf.l  (2024) In/visibilities-in Data Studies: Methods, Tools, and Interventions, kapitel i Data Studies: Methods, Tools and Interventions, Bristol University Press - Science, Technology and Society 

Falk, P, (2023). Data matter: as data become matter, design matters, kapitel  i The Materials of Service Design, Edward Elgar Publishing. 

Falk P., Muis I., Rölhle T and Schäfer M, (2022) Action Research in Critical Data Studies. How Impact Assessments of Data & AI Projects Capture and Shape Data Practices in Government Organisations. Findings from the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. 9th European Communication Conference

Schäfer M, Falk P., Muis I., Rölhle T, (2022) Analysing Data Power through Participatory Observation: A Call to Action. Data Power 2022 Conference

Falk, P. (2021). Towards a Public Sector Data Culture: Data as an Individual and Communal Resource, kapitel   i The Data Shake. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. Springer.