Nordic Research Funding Initiative on Sexual Harassment at work

Spanning 2021-2023, NIKK is administering a research initiative on sexual harassment in the workplace on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The initiative is especially focused on prevention and methods for intervention through industry studies and comparative studies of different industries. There will be two calls for research funding.  

Two calls will be made during the year. The first is aimed at ongoing research projects which, through a grant from the research initiative, can add a Nordic dimension to their project. The second call is aimed at Nordic projects that intend to initiate practice-based research activities. This call is also research-based, but the projects should be practice-oriented and it assumes collaboration with working life actors in the Nordic countries.

The first call opened on April 20 2021, the second call will be made in autumn 2021.

Violence, harassment and other forms of vulnerability in the workplace are major societal challenges with serious consequences for individuals and workplace organisations. But there are major gaps in our knowledge about methods for preventing and stopping violence and harassment, protecting victims and being proactive in workplace environments. Research and evidence-based knowledge is essential to be able to develop new and effective measures to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. 

With this background, the Nordic Council of Ministers has decided on a cross-sectoral research initiative jointly with several sectors within the Nordic cooperation. These collaborative sectors are gender equality, culture, working life and the Nordic Committee for Children and Young People. Further sectors may be added at a later date.  

Objectives 

The overarching objectives of the initiative are: 

• To contribute towards new knowledge on sexual harassment at work  in the Nordic countries, with a focus on preventive measures and intervention methods. 
• To contribute towards a good knowledge base for policy development and to cross-sectoral Nordic collaboration within the Nordic Council of MInisters. 
• For the research to be of high academic quality, practice-based and well communicated. 
• To be relevant to the collaborative sectors involved, for affected industries and for the working life actors   

Calls 2021

The two calls jointly amount to DKK 3.7 million. Two calls will be made during the year:  

• The first call  
  Aimed at ongoing research projects where a grant from the research initiative would enable a Nordic dimension to be added to the project.  
  The call is now closed and the applications are being assessed.
  

• The second call  
  Aimed at researchers and practitioners who intend to initiate practice-based research activities in collaboration. This call focuses mainly on preventative measures and methods for intervention through industry studies and comparative studies of different industries. The proposals are to be developed in partnership between several Nordic countries.
  When: Opens 26 August – deadline 7 October 2021, Information Meeting planned for 2 September 2021

The funded projects are 6–18 months long. 

A cross-sectoral reference group for the initiative, appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, will be involved in drawing up the calls.