Between Science and Politics

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to look into how Swedish work environment research was formed. This is an interesting question because of the strength of the area in an international comparison and worries about the future of the field. The study focuses on two policy arenas: labour policy and science policy. Inspired by historical institutionalism and principal-agent theory, an analytical tool was developed and used to unravel the processes underlying the formation of the field. The material used for the analysis includes interviews with scientists and other stakeholders as well as government documents, monographs, articles and biographies. One conclusion is that there seems to have been a “golden age” in the history of work environment research from the 1970s until the 1990s, during which levels of research funding increased as well as the number of researchers active in the field. Reasons behind this increase can be found in the labour policy as well as the science policy arena. In the labour policy arena, the “Swedish model” facilitated collaboration between the social partners related to Swedish work environment research in various ways. The social partners have acted as research funders and lobbyists for the institutionalisation of work related research. During the 1970s and 1980s, corporativist influence in the public sector administration furthermore led the social partners to a position of direct power in matters related to funding and execution of publicly funded work environment research. In the science policy arena, an orientation towards problem-driven, applied research in the 1970s and 1980s led to more funding to the work environment research and to influence in funding decisions and the persecution of research by the social partners. In sum, both the labour and science policy arenas of the 1970s and 1980s benefitted the growth of work environment research. Another conclusion is that shifts in emphasis in Swedish science policy between scientific relevance and societal relevance have affected the development of work environment research. Before the 1970s, the emphasis was on scientific relevance until it changed for emphasis on usefulness and societal relevance in the 1970s- 1990s. After 2001, scientific relevance made a “comeback” in combination with the focus of growth of the innovation paradigm. The social partners have lobbied for problem-oriented research, while actors in the scientific community and politics have lobbied against what they perceived as undue interference from government or other stakeholders in decisions related to science. One reason for current concerns about the future of the field is the focus of Swedish science policy on scientific excellence and innovation which means that problem-oriented, applied work environment research has difficulties to compete. However, there are signs of change. Since the early 2000s the social partners finance work environment research via AFA Insurance and Swedish science policy seems to be moving back towards more focus on the societal relevance of research.