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Societal mission and outreach

STAMI bases its activities on research, and apportions its resource investment between research, working environment surveillance, education, knowledge dissemination and other administrative and working life supporting activities.

In this way, STAMI will contribute to knowledge-based measures and priorities in Norwegian businesses, with the authorities, and in employer and labour organisations.

On STAMI’s mission in an outreach perspective

STAMI will motivate and facilitate knowledge-based prioritisation in Norwegian companies and the working environment administration.

To produce, refine and disseminate knowledge about the working environment and occupational health to the benefit of Norwegian working life.

On STAMI’s objectives in an outreach perspective

Presenting knowledge of risk factors and preventive measures to Norwegian working life, contributing to knowledge-based exercise of authority, educating and upskilling occupational health and safety personnel.

On organisational assets and benefits

STAMI’s s assets and benefits are considered the backbone of our outreach strategy and all our outreach activities:

  • knowledge about Norwegian working life and its agencies
  • sound, informative dialogue with the parties involved in working life and the authorities
  • high degree of role awareness
  • the ability to combine research, surveillance, education, and working life and administrative support functions in an independent, quality-assured, resource-efficient manner
  • the ability to translate research into advice and guidance in preventive activities, through communication and education
  • quality-assured, professionally independent, balanced, comprehensible, and engaging dissemination and communication

On outreach and communication

STAMI’s communication strategy is stated in its institutional strategy. All STAMI’s communication activities build upon the research activities performed at the institute.
STAMI’s outreach activities do not necessarily compare with the outreach activities of other institutes from a strictly communicative perspective. This is due to the role STAMI has as the National Institute of Occupational Health and given the strategic role the institute has as a contributor to both public administration and work life support.

Because of this these activities together with our educational activities are imperative to STAMI’s outreach, and maybe more so than the typical end-user dissemination activities one often considers to be strict outreach activities.

Communication and education

Communication and dissemination activities are important tools for maximising the utilisation of STAMI’s knowledge in Norwegian working life.

STAMI will achieve this through clear communication, accessible research dissemination and research-based courses and seminars.

STAMI facilitates, to the greatest extent possible, direct interactions via suitable channels between the experts, the knowledge and the institute’s various target groups.
STAMI’s overall communication effort includes all target groups and shall be aimed at the end users to a greater extent than previously; this includes dialogue with employees and managers in Norwegian businesses.

STAMI’s communication shall both enhance and increase the institute’s visibility and strengthen the institute’s role in the Norwegian public sphere by working to retain and strengthen its role as a reference point for both lexical and practical knowledge of Norwegian working life in the Norwegian media, among the Norwegian public, for Norwegian businesses and for people in general.

STAMI will follow government communication policy and work for full transparency, accessibility, and a high level of integrity.

Communication and research dissemination

Communication and dissemination activities are important tools for maximising the utilisation of STAMI’s knowledge in Norwegian working life. STAMI will achieve this through clear communication, accessible research dissemination and research-based courses and seminars.

Our communication activities shall make STAMI visible as the national research institute and knowledge agency in our field and clarify our role as a leading provider of knowledge to the parties involved in Norwegian working life. Our communication activities shall be readily accessible in a format that facilitates and stimulates the application of knowledge through scientifically based measures to the benefit of Norwegian working life and individual businesses.

STAMI works to increase the availability and application of STAMI’s knowledge in working life, through adaptations of both the messages and the various means of dissemination.

Priority measures in STAMI’s communication and reputation building are:

  • increased dialogue with target groups
  • increased availability of knowledge and tools, including
    • keener focus on communication with end users
    • increased use of new communication technology
    • new, integrated communication channels, including infographics, films, podcasts and e-encyclopaedias,
  • to strengthen our role as the national scientific reference point
    • for both lexical and practical knowledge of the working environment,
    • popular dissemination of our own and others’ scientific work and evidence synthesises of relevance for Norwegian working life
  • strategic reputation building by means of increased visibility and activity in several arenas
  • contribute to maximising the advantage of collaborative actions, networks and to enhance synergies and communication channels through the inclusive working life agreement (IA-avtalen)
  • strategic reputation building by means of increased visibility and activity on several arenas

Education, courses and seminars

STAMI has a special responsibility for education and upskilling of personnel in the field of working environment and occupational health.

STAMI’s courses and seminars are research-based and aimed at personnel in occupational health and safety services. The university and college sector has only fragmented and limited scope for providing this type of education.

STAMI’s education is one of the main channels for disseminating the institute’s research and making it shared knowledge, building knowledge-based actions and activities within STAMI’s main target groups.

Priority measures in STAMI’s educational activities are to

  • provide relevant, quality-assured and research-based courses and seminars
  • establish course and tuition opportunities on multiple platforms by means of e-learning and digital interfaces
  • increase course and teaching collaboration in the Nordic countries through, among others, NIVA (The Nordic Institute for Advanced Education in Occupational Health) and Nordic sister institutes
  • develop and offer a formal educational programme to provide competence in the field of working environment and occupational health in collaboration with a university or college
  • establish more specialisation opportunities (medical specialisations) at STAMI through strategic collaboration with relevant professional associations

Target groups

STAMI’s target groups are the Norwegian working life and parties of significance to Norwegian working life. The core target groups are represented in STAMI’s advisory council, which is a key forum for dialogue with these parties.

Businesses

Norwegian businesses constitute a key target group and end user of STAMI’s knowledge development and dissemination. Business managers, union representatives and safety representatives form a particularly important target group because of their roles in developing the working environment.

Parties involved in the working life

The social parties involved in working life jointly set the premises for most efforts to improve working environments and the development of knowledge in the field, both centrally, regionally and in the individual organisation.

The working environment authorities

STAMI communicates specialist knowledge to the working environment authorities as a basis for the development of legislation and regulations and provides knowledge and knowledge development as a basis for the authorities’ strategies and priorities.

Policy and decision makers

The institute contributes with value-neutral knowledge to policy and decision-makers at societal level so that priorities of importance for work and occupational health are made on the best possible basis.

Health agencies

STAMI is the central academic community for information, education, advice, and guidance in the field of working environment and health. The primary health service and the occupational health service are thus important target groups. And our courses and education are used as primary communication channels for STAMI’s research to this target group.

Research communities

To other research communities, both nationally and internationally, STAMI shall be an attractive partner for collaboration within the institute’s specialist fields. STAMI embodies Norway’s primary means of contributing knowledge to the international research front and is responsible for making knowledge from the international research front available to Norwegian working life.

Working life support functions in an outreach perspective

STAMI’s activities shall motivate and enable Norwegian working life and Norwegian businesses to build sound, sustainable working environments, prevent injuries and promote good health.

All knowledge disseminated by STAMI should be directly relevant to working life.
STAMI will prioritise direct contact with businesses in need of advice and support, either directly or through the occupational health service, and facilitate giving advice tailored for to the users.

During the strategy period, STAMI will continue giving high priority to consultancy and support functions for businesses and industries, including the occupational health service, which often represents others.

All STAMI’s working life support functions are outreach activities where STAMI’s knowledge and skills are to be made available.

These activities can be considered direct contact points within our different target groups enhancing our outreach activities mostly focusing on target groups such as businesses, parties involved in working life and policy and decision makers who are mostly from the public sector.

STAMI shall prioritise the following tasks and services in support of working life

  • assessment, guidance, and advice
  • national working environment library
  • advisory service for pregnancy and the working environment
  • advice related to the choice of sampling strategies for exposure mapping
  • rental of sampling equipment for exposure mapping
  • chemical service analyses and interpretation thereof
  • facilitation of data extraction and graphics from NOA
  • facilitation of data entry, data extraction and graphics from EXPO
  • education and dissemination activities
  • development and provision of tools to develop good working environments

Public administration support functions in an outreach perspective

STAMI’s knowledge development shall contribute to knowledge-based management in the working environment field, and knowledge disseminated by STAMI is of direct relevance to the other working environment authorities.

As a government agency STAMI does not make administrative decisions. An important part of STAMI’s government assignment is to perform tasks close to, and in support of, public administration.

STAMI shall provide and convey specialist knowledge to the working environment authorities as a basis for the drafting of laws, regulations, strategies, and priorities.

STAMI has support functions for, and cooperates closely with, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, the Petroleum Safety Authority, and parts of NAV, and shall assist the ministry in professional matters when necessary.

STAMI’s contingency function shall ensure that the working environment authorities are updated as soon as possible on new and emerging risks that may impact Norwegian working life.

Certain tasks in the border area between research and the exercise of authority have been delegated to STAMI. This work requires specialist, scientific expertise that is best managed and cultivated in a scientific setting. STAMI utilises the synergies of affiliation, organisation, competence and experience to perform such tasks efficiently and with a high degree of quality in addition to its other responsibilities.

All STAMI’s public administration support functions are outreach activities where STAMI’s knowledge and skills are to be made available.

These activities can be considered direct contact points within our different target groups enhancing our outreach activities – focusing mostly on target groups such as policy and decision makers and The Working Environment Authorities, but to some extent also target groups such as Health Agencies and Research communities (sectoral and public).

Examples of such tasks are:

Other outreach channels and activities

STAMI’s outreach activities are strategically chosen to fulfil our communication objectives, contribute to STAMI’s overall objectives and to contribute, in the best way possible, to the societal mission STAMI has, and to achieve high visibility, high credibility and trustworthiness. This is a necessity given STAMI’s role as the National Research Institute and knowledge provider on occupational health and medicine as well as work environment.

Main channels and main outreach activities – in addition to the above mentioned – are:

As clarified earlier, our activities enhance accessibility and usability of knowledge related to the needs of the different target groups, thus increasing the use of knowledge-based measures to improve working environments.

These activities can be considered direct contact points within our different target groups enhancing our outreach activities – focusing mostly on target groups such as policy and decision makers and the working environment authorities, but to some extent also target groups such as health agencies and research communities (sectoral and public).