About us

A Nordic welfare model

The Nordic Welfare Centre is an institution in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ social and health sector. Our mission is to contribute to the development of welfare initiatives in the Nordic region. By compiling and disseminating knowledge on welfare issues, we offer strengthened tools for policy-making, as well as tools for improving health and well-being of all citizens.

Our results are used as basis for political decisions at national, regional and local level in the five Nordic countries, and in Åland, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands.

Vision for a Sustainable Nordic region

In August 2019, the Nordic Prime Ministers decided that the Nordic region shall become the world’s most sustainable and integrated region. This resulted in a vision that is to be realised through three strategic priorities in the period 2021–2024: a green Nordic region, a competitive Nordic region and a socially sustainable Nordic region.

There are different vision goals linked to these three strategic areas. The Nordic Welfare Centre is working with all three areas, but with a special focus on a socially sustainable Nordic region. The vision goals for this area include:

• Health and welfare
• Inclusive transition
• Civil society and children and young people
• Cohesion

Learn more about the Nordic Council of Ministers’ action plan, which takes its starting point in the three strategic priorities and twelve objectives of the vision.

The Nordic societies are built on a strong welfare model and a social contract with public institutions that enjoy a high level of trust among the citizens. Society takes extensive responsibility for guaranteeing safety and well-being equally for everyone.

The scope of this social contract distinguishes the Nordic region from other regions.

How we work

We offer arenas for expert meetings, we convey knowledge, establish networks and produce best practice recommendations for decision makers. We also build bridges between research and practice.

The Nordic welfare systems share many similarities, which offers us opportunities to learn from each other. When compiling and disseminating knowledge we explore and compare conditions in the Nordic countries, with particular attention to innovative solutions made in municipalities and organisations.

Are there lessons to be learned from how different countries have met a challenge? If so, it is the Nordic Welfare Centre’s mission to disseminate that knowledge and to provide inspiration on how others can meet similar challenges and find solutions. At the core of the Nordic Welfare Centre’s mission lies both conveying knowledge and offering practical tools for improvements.