Digital welfare

Intensified use of digital data is at the core of current digitalisation strategies in welfare societies in Europe and beyond. Equal access to welfare services is a key value in the Nordic countries, but differences in access to digital self-service solutions and data quality pose challenges to universal welfare.

At DTU Management, our research targets issues around accessibility, accountability, automation, participation and infrastructure design in relation to the ongoing digital transformation of welfare societies. Who benefits and who is challenged when state-citizen interactions happen online? What are digital innovation and public-private partnerships' effects on governance and organisational decision-making processes? How do you create value with data that respects individual and group privacy? What might sustainable digitalisation look like?

To address questions about data intensification, digitalisation and the welfare state, we conduct research on the relation between welfare service systems, online platforms and human users. Overall, our research investigates how digital technologies have become central to addressing and intervening in societal change processes.

Our research involves societal partners and engages in public dialogue and co-creation around digitalisation processes. Our methodologies encounter people in public sector organisations of the welfare state, in private homes, and as they use digital infrastructures while on the move. We pay special attention to inclusion/exclusion mechanisms and the role of public participation in responsible innovation.

Please get in touch with us if you have ideas for research projects or need an expert opinion.