Leif Olsen

Areas of work

Leif Olsen is a Senior Researcher at VIVE with a particular focus on the social and disability field. His work centres on the evaluation, development and implementation of social interventions, with special attention to citizen involvement, rehabilitation, statutory practice, and collaboration across municipalities, civil society and other welfare actors.

He works primarily with practice-oriented evaluations and analyses of interventions targeting people in complex life situations, including people with disabilities. A recurring theme in his research is how services, organizational arrangements and professional practices can support quality of life, participation, trust, legal certainty and self-determination.

Methods

Methodologically, he works with mixed methods, combining qualitative interviews, surveys, document studies, observations and theory-based evaluation approaches. He has extensive experience from research and analysis in the Danish welfare field, including positions in research institutions and public sector organizations focusing on social policy and disability.

Background

I have an MA in Sociology from University of Copenhagen, where I also obtained my PhD with a thesis on knowledge centres in the field of disability in 1998. Previously, I have been employed at Universitetshospitalernes Center for Sygeplejeforskning (The University Hospitals’ Centre for Nursing Research) and have been a consultant in Socialstyrelsen (The National Board of Social Services) in the field of disability. Since 2000, I have carried out research, analysis and evaluation in the field of social affairs, as a researcher and senior researcher in the former AKF, KORA and now VIVE.