196 Collaborative research’s unintended effect: designing a cross-sectorial meeting place

Abstract EP1.2, e-Poster Terminal 1, September 3, 2025, 13:05 - 13:55 Aims This poster addresses how a team of five representatives from three municipalities and several researchers, collaborated to find solutions to the societal challenge in Northern Norway where refugees with health issues do not complete the introduction program. Health challenges are a significant reason why many refugees in Norway do not finish the program or secure employment afterward, leading to increased inequality and social exclusion. Finding new solutions can enhance refugees’ chances of integrating into the Norwegian labor market and society. Methods We adapted the design thinking framework for one-day dialogue seminars with stakeholders involved in the introduction program. Through seminars in three municipalities, we engaged approximately 80 participants to find new solutions. We completed four of the five steps in the design thinking framework during these seminars, with the municipalities responsible for the final step: testing. Results The seminars resulted in new initiatives in each municipality. Additionally, they had an unintended but yet valuable effect: creating a desirable cross-sectorial meeting place. The true value of the seminars was the meeting place itself, rather than the specific measures agreed upon by participants. Conclusions Our main concern is the complexity of organizing work around the introduction program, which potentially creates unintended effects for refugees. How have we in Norway managed to make the work with refugees so complicated that the actors in the program do not know each other or what they are working on? What are the consequences of this complexity for the refugees?