From research to change – Forte invests in putting research into practice in working life

Published: 2 June 2026

Reading time: 2 minutes

To ensure that research on working life leads to more concrete benefits in the workplace, Forte is awarding SEK 7.6 million to seven projects that will put research results into practice. This is the first time that dedicated implementation grants are being awarded within Forte’s national programme for working life research.

There is already a substantial body of knowledge on working conditions, organisation and health in working life. At the same time, there is a need to make greater use of this knowledge in practice. Through this new initiative, Forte aims to strengthen efforts to turn knowledge into changes in working methods, learning and development in workplaces.

– This initiative marks a clear shift from simply producing knowledge to actually ensuring it is used in working life. After several years of building up knowledge within the programme, we now want to place greater emphasis on putting research results into practice, says Raili Uibo, programme manager for Forte’s national programme for working life research.

The funded projects have a clear idea of how change will be achieved.

Raili Uibo

Programme manager for Forte’s national programme for working life research

Actors actively involved in development

The call “Implementation in working life research 2026” is aimed at projects that develop and test how research-based knowledge can be used together with relevant actors in working life. This may involve new ways of working, the implementation of research-based methods, or collaborative processes where employers, employees and other actors take an active part in the development work.

Forte defines impact as research results and knowledge contributing to learning that can form the basis for evidence-based decision-making, changed behaviours or improved ways of working.

– What particularly characterises the funded projects is that they have a clear idea of how change will be achieved – which activities will lead to learning and how this is put into practice. They also show that relevant actors are involved from the outset and take an active part in the work, rather than only making use of the results afterwards, says Raili.

When research is developed and tested in collaboration with those who will use the results, the chances increase that it will have an impact and be relevant in practice. The aim of the initiative is to create the conditions for research results to contribute to better working environments, sustainable workplaces and a more knowledge-based working life.