NordForsk recieved a total of 63 eligible proposals, and many of very high quality. The projects will address issues such as psychosocial consequences, service barriers, participation and interventions, young people's vulnerability and resilience, Nordic policies and children's well-being, and inequalities in learning and mental health.
Involvement of children and young people
An important element in the call for proposals was the involvement of children and young people, and this is emphasised when awarding projects. One example is the project YoungEqual, where young people will be involved at all stages in the research process. They will be involved in different parts of the data collection, both in planning, data collection and in analysis of the data. In addition, young adults from all the involved Nordic countries will be recruited for participation in focus group interviews.
It has also been important to have young people represented in the assessment of the applications. Rasmus Emborg, President of the Nordic Youth Council, is therefore one of the members of the call committee and will participate in the follow-up of the projects throughout the period.
“It is essential to gain knowledge about the effects of the pandemic on children and young people. The pandemic was an extraordinary event in which children and young people were directly and indirectly exposed to a number of measures, including the closure of schools and activity programmes,” says Arne Flåøyen, Director of NordForsk.
“The Nordic countries handled this in different ways, so it's important that we work together to find out what worked and what didn't, and what long-term consequences the pandemic will have for children and young people. Not least because we must avoid making the same mistakes again.”
About the call
The overall objective of NordForsk's research on children and young people in the post-pandemic Nordics is to support and accelerate cutting edge Nordic research with high potential for renewal and impact on the welfare among children and young people in the post-pandemic Nordics.
Among other things, the call seeks to address how resilience among children and young people can be promoted, through for example health promotion and prevention studies, and to further knowledge into societal crisis preparedness, learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and building resilience at different levels of our societies with the purpose of supporting the welfare of children and young people
The call is funded by NordForsk, Academy of Finland, Swedish Research Council, Forte – Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, Rannis - The Icelandic Centre for Research, and the Research Council of Norway.
Funded projects
All funded projects will have a budget of approximately 11 million Norwegian kroner and a duration of four to five years. The total budget of the call is 88 million Norwegian kroner.
Project leaders are from Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and participants are from all Nordic countries.
By the call deadline in November 2022, NordForsk received 63 eligible proposals. The proposals were assessed by an international expert panel. A call committee then gave their recommendation to the NordForsk board, based on the scientific review by the expert panel, an assessment of the potential for Nordic added value, and the project's contribution to the overall aims of the call. The funding decision was made by the NordForsk board on 24 May 2023.
- Children First: Nordic policies and children’s well-being (ChildrenFirst)
Project leader: Mia Hakovirta, University of Turku, Finland
Participating countries: Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland
- Children's and adolescents' responses to the pandemic–future risks of increasing inequalities in learning and mental health (YoungEqual)
Project leader: Curt Hagquist, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Participating countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland
- Education of Refugees and Asylum Seekers under and post the Pandemic in Nordic Countries (ERAPAN)
Project leader: Hanne Riese, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Participating countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden
- Exploring Practices in Early Childhood of Tomorrow Develop resilience in social sustainable childhoods after Covid-19 (EXPECT)
Project leader: Ole Henrik Hansen, Jönköping University, Sweden
Participating countries: Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Norway
- Mental health and life satisfaction among youth with disabilities and experiences of services in the post-pandemic period (D-youth)
Project leader: Minna-Liisa Luoma, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Participating countries: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
- Post-pandemic mental health: Risk and resilience in young people (covidmentYOUNG)
Project leader: Helga Ask, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
Participating countries: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark
- Post-Pandemic Vulnerability and Resilience: A bioecological approach towards youth wellbeing in Nordic schools and communities (SISU)
Project leader: Agnieszka Butwicka, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Participating countries: Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway
- Psychosocial problems, service barriers, participation and interventions during crises: solutions for children and young people (CrisesSolutions)
Project leader: Andre Sourander, University of Turku, Finland
Participating countries: Finland, Iceland, Finland, Norway
