Guðný Björk Eydal

Research and development project:
The Nordic Welfare Watch (Norræn velferðarvakt)-in response to crises
The aim of this study is to investigate how well Nordic welfare systems are preparedfor various crises. The welfare state plays an extensive role in crisis and disasters, yetemergency response plans and the organization of civil defence do include thehealth systems in their planning while the role of social services is rather unclear.
Furthermore, the literature shows a need for long-term response plans, which are
typically governed by municipalities and social services in cooperation with healthcare services.
The aim of this pioneering study is twofold: 1) Investigate the role of social services
in disaster planning in the Nordic countries and evaluate the experience and lessons
learned from the Welfare Watch created in Iceland following the bank crisis; and 2)
Evaluate the challenges for which Nordic welfare systems should be prepared.
The study is divided into four independent projects:
1) Examine emergency response plans amongst the Nordic states focusing on therole of welfare services, especially social services;
2) Evaluate the activities of the Icelandic Welfare Watch;3) Define and map the risk challenges that the Nordic welfare system could face incoming years;4) Combine the results from the above three projects, as well as the results of otherresearch groups (the reaction to the bank crisis, social and health indicators aswell as results from the NordForsk Centres of Excellence on Societal Risks).
Based on these results a proposal will be made for a Nordic Welfare Watch
based on the following:
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Is there a premise to create a welfare watch in all Nordic states?
How will the cooperation of the Nordic Welfare Watch be organised?
What challenges do Nordic states face?
Interdisciplinary cooperation on risk assessment-what do the results of studies invarious fields indicate (e.g. social, health and natural sciences)?
How would welfare systems respond to such risks/challenges?
Is it sensible for welfare watches to support specialist knowledge that can beshared between states if pertinent (e.g. Iceland‘s perspective on the response ofwelfare systems following natural disasters, Sweden‘s understanding of theresponse of welfare systems following a nuclear disaster)?

1Main Tasks
1) Examine how response systems (civil defence) and monitoring systems in theNordic countries define welfare systems in regards to their emergency
response and public service plans. Emphasis is placed on the specialised
knowledge of each country in order to evaluate whether the states should
adopt any given procedure. Special attention is placed on the role of thesocial system, especially social services, as initial analysis indicates that therole of the health services is already well defined.
2) Evaluate the activities of the Icelandic Welfare Watch. This includes acomplete evaluation of the watch as well as its effectiveness.
3) Examine current understandings of future challenges and risk mapping inorder to assess what issues the welfare systems might need to handle in thenear future.
4) Compile the results of the studies above with results of other researchgroups along with the results of other Nordic research in the field. The final
outcome: an evaluation of the need for a Nordic Welfare Watch.
This project is overseen by a steering committee of five specialists led by ProfessorGuðný Björk Eydal, Faculty of Social Work, University of Iceland. There will be a
representative of each Nordic state in the group. Each representative appoints andleads their own advisory team of 5-7 experts whom have researched the role ofwelfare systems/social services or are currently working as specialists in the field ofcivil defence.
As pointed out above the project focuses on the emergency responses andmonitoring (civil defence) in the Nordic states and how much emphasis they place on
welfare systems in emergency response. The role of the welfare system and its
functions will be analysed. Special emphasis is placed on the role of social services as
preliminary analysis shows that the role of the health services is already well defined.
Focus is placed on defining the response systems and examining the specialist
knowledge of some states to help evaluate whether all the states should adopt any
procedure systematically. All of the Nordic states have some form of monitoring
system, but each are variously organized as well as the role of their welfare systems
in response to a disaster. There has been quite extensive research done on welfare
systems following an economic crisis, but little has been done to examine their rolein other disasters. Therefore, it is profoundly important to examine the role of thewelfare system has in each Nordic state. Such analysis creates the premise for theNordic states to learn from each other, while possible creating the basis for a Nordic
Welfare Watch.

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The project tasks
1st Phase: The role of the welfare system and social services in case ofdisasters

Analysis of the state of the art. This project will be led by the steering committee,
but the data will be gathered and analysed by the research assistant. Furthermore,
the advisory teams in each country will help ensure the best possible analysis (and in2015 also contribute to the risk mapping future disasters or challenges the welfare
systems may need to deal with). Focus will be placed on cooperating with otherprofessionals and third sector organisations as well.

2nd Phase: Evaluation of the Icelandic Welfare Watch

This phase will be overseen by project managers and two specialist consultants;
Ingibjörg Broddadóttir, The Ministry of Welfare and Lára Björnsdóttir, who chaired
the Welfare Watch for the last five years. This will be contractual work. This phasewill conduct an analysis of the organization, work and influence of the Icelandic
Welfare Watch, which has been functioning over the last five years. The emphasis in
the watch has been on multi-disciplinary co-operation, flexible management and theparticipation of various individuals from public service, social (activist) groups andthe employment market. A managing committee oversaw the work done by thewatch.
The following factors will be analysed: 1) the creation and organization of thewelfare watch, 2) procedures and supervision; 3) proposals to the government andtheir outcomes. Data: Welfare Watch’s and other reports; interviews with thoseparticipating in the watch and focus groups with specialists in the field regarding theeffectiveness of the watch. Methods: Content analysis, interviews and focus groups.
This will be an evaluative study conducted by an independent research organisation(as proposed by the Social Science Research Institute, while other research facilities
could be utilized during this phase).

3rd Phase: Future Challenges

An analysis of known future challenges in order to evaluate what type of projects thewelfare systems may need to handle in the near future. The study, will be conductedby the steering committee and the employee (see phase 1, the steering committee
consists of one representative from each country who each oversees aninterdisciplinary advisory team) under the leadership of the project leader. This
includes analysing both manmade crises and natural ones. For instance the increased
focus in the arctic region on environmental changes and the crises it will create
based on the results of Nordic research on sustainability and environmental effects
over the last years.

4th Phase: A Nordic Welfare Watch?

In this phase the answer to the question will be sought of whether there is reason tocreate a welfare watch in each Nordic country (a Nordic Welfare Watch) and how
such a welfare watch could cooperate in preparing crisis responses for future threats3that the states and autonomous countries may all need to deal with. This will bebased on the reports of the previous phases outlined earlier as well as cooperation
with specialists who analysed the reaction of the Nordic welfare state to the bankcrisis under the leadership of Stefán Ólafsson and the NordForsk Centres ofExcellence on Societal Risks. This phase will be conducted by the same steeringcommittee as in phase 1; composed of a representative from each country whooversees an interdisciplinary advisory team.

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