SOL - Social Change, Organization and Management
The SOL group has a long history at the Molde University College. In 1978, the University College established a curriculum in political science, and in the late 1980’s it formalized SOL as a group, gathering social scientist and researchers from other disciplines at the college and the co-located research institute Møre Research Molde. Since then, SOL has been an arena for disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies and projects, which have included partners within central organizations in public as well as private sector.

Today most of the research in the group relates to social change, organization and policy implementation and governance. Our studies often originate from an interest in the local/regional level and its interaction with other governmental levels and/or/ public-private sector relations. The group has also carried out interdisciplinary research on resilience of regionally based industries and industrial clusters under the duress of globalization and the role of cluster based firms in global production networks. The group consists mainly of social scientists, and scholars within organization studies and law studies. Moreover, researchers within other social sciences and historians connect to SOL. As such, the group has been able to meet a growing need for interdisciplinary research.
Members of the group have a wide national and international network and participate in conferences all over the world. SOL has a core focus on disseminating theoretical and methodological issues in social science, often through seminars and joint research projects. SOL collaborate with several academic institutions in Europe on projects and co-authorships. The group welcomes visiting scholars and stimulates research exchanges.
SOL publish in national and international journals, for example Regulation and Governance, Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier, Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning, Tidsskrift for omsorgsforskning, International Journal of Care Coordination, Journal of Place Management and Development and Business History Review. The group also worked out book projects on evaluation theories and practices and important reform processes in public sector (for example Evaluering i teori og praksis [Evaluation in theory and practice] (Ed. Tornes, K.) and Resultatkommunen: reformer og resultater [Reforms in local government] (Ed. Torsteinsen, H.). SOL also organize public lectures on current political affairs.
Participants
- Ove Bjarnar
- Kari Elisabeth Bachmann
- Dag Erik Berg (Leader)
- Dag Magne Berge
- Anne Madeleine Botslangen
- Odd Anders Bøyum-Folkeseth
- Judith Ann Molka-Danielsen
- Harald Klaus Dolles
- Inger Cecilie Frisvoll
- Hallgeir Gammelsæter (Secondary leader)
- Ingunn Gjerde
- Lisa Hansson
- Lise Lillebrygfjeld Halse
- Johan Holmgren
- Beinta I Jakupsstovu
- Christina Berg Johansen
- Sølve Mikal Krekvik Nerland
- Georg Inge Iversen Panzer
- Oskar Solenes
- Solveig Straume
- Erlend Vik
- Turid Aarseth
- Ingrid Marie Leikvoll Oskarsson
- Morten Walløe Tvedt
- Ylva Stokke Westad
- Tonje Hungnes (secondary leader)
- Dag Harald Claes (UiO)
- Ralf Kirchoff (NTU Ålesund)