Information about the six conference tracks

1. Innovative Work Systems for Production, Products and Services

The focus of this track is to exchange knowledge concerning new and innovative work systems that intend to combine good and improved working conditions with high organisational performance, e.g. High Performance Work Organisations, Lean Production, High Involvement Working Practices.

These work systems typically include practices such as continuous improvement, customer focus, empowerment, learning, participation, process orientation and teamwork. Studies of application in production, in product design, in private and public sectors, are welcome.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• Sustainability of Lean
• Performance Measurements In the Public Sector
• Lean Implementation In Industry
• Lean and Work Environment
• In Memorial of Mikael Brännmark (Symposium)
• Lean Inspired Change

2. Learning and Innovation at Work

Issues concerning the workplace as a site for learning and innovation are high on the agenda in research as well as in policy debate. The importance of these issues is argued from a wide range of perspectives, including innovation policy, new forms of production and work organisation, mobility, lifelong learning and employability.

To outline the current standing of knowledge and practice in this area, this track will cover different methodological orientations and theoretical perspectives on the workplace as a learning environment. Even though the focus is on the workplace, also a broader social approach related to demographic changes, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic factors is of great importance.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• Practice-Based Innovation & Workplace Learning
• Workplace Learning as Social Innovation
• Promoting the Innovative Work Organisation: The Role of the HR-Function
• The Future of VET: Learning from Nordic Countries
• Leadership For Learning and Innovation
• Interactive Research

3. Health, Work Ability and Competence

In a complex and fast changing working life, health and work ability are strongly influenced by the continuous interaction between organisational principles, leadership, working conditions and employee competence.

Workplace health and productivity are core issues in the development of organisations. Research on health promoting organisations involve not only working conditions, organisational norms, values, and leadership , but also workplace learning, individual competence, and the quality of production and services. Problems of sick leave absence, as well as sickness presence, may be considered in a health promoting perspective, but are also influenced by the welfare regimes.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• Implementation of Workplace Interventions
• Developing Leadership and Work Conditions
• Return To Work and Work Functioning
• Procome: What Effect Does Implemetation Have on Health-Promotion Program Results? A Nordic Collaboration Project
• Learning and Performance in Organisations
• Health and Presenteeism

4. New Forms of Organisation – New Ways to Organise

It is often said that change is - paradoxically - the only constant state. Change at all levels, global, national, organisational and individual, both create and are created by organisational change. Not seldom, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial processes are connected to the organisational change. The processes create new forms of organisations and new ways to organise. At times, change is rather on the level of re-labelling old organisations and/or established ways to organise.

In this track, dominating theoretical perspectives may be challenged. The public debate is full of contradicting, and sometimes politicised, statements concerning the “state-of-the-art”. Therefore, empirical studies in organisations of different sizes and with different owners and different managing principles will be of especially great value. Comparative studies are welcome.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• Policies of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Organisation
• Organising Across Sectoral Boarders: Non-Profit Focus
• Organising Across Sectoral Boarders
• Organising Change and Innovation: Gender Dimensions
• Organising Change and Innovation: Intra-Organisational Perspectives
• Organising for Chagen and Innovation: Spatial Dimensions

5. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development

Renewal capabilities of cities and regions are high up on the agenda among researchers as well as practitioners world-wide. A common objective of economic development efforts is the creation of an Entrepreneurial Region. Such regions have the capability to move across technological paradigms and periodically renew themselves through new technologies and businesses generated from its economical base. The emergence of university-industry-public sector interactions is a key factor of regional development.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• University Roles in Triple Helix Collaborations
• Clusters and Intermediaries
• Networks for Development
• Public Sector Innovation
• Workplace Innovation in Europe
• Patient Involvement

6. Managing Projects - Measuring impact

Today, a new paradigm is developing in research on project management and change processes. The traditional one, based on linearity, detailed planning and short-term outcomes, is being questioned. Instead, the emerging paradigm emphasises an open system perspective, long-term effects, learning and reflection. In practise, however, the learning perspective still plays a minor role in the steering and implementation of programmes and projects supporting innovation systems, entrepreneurship and skills formation. This track will focus on these and other related issues concerning the management and measuring of impact of projects and programmes.

The following sessions and symposia of this track will be presented at the conference:

• Learning For Sustainable Development
• Measuring and Analyzing For Impact
• From Problem Defining to Potential Supportive Initiatives
• Researching for Regional Development
• Capturing Impact of Programs and Pojects
• Means For Learning and Innovation