Participants in research and educational projects

Many colleagues and associates participated in the activities during the decades. Regrettably, a complete listing is not possible. 

The files include samples of prominent participants in the two early OD projects (THEMES). The core R&D team in the first large healthcare project included Björn Andersson, Lauritz Brännström, Lennart Sandberg and Bo Strangert, while Vivan Brännström was the regional associate. Lars-Åke Almqvist, a trade union associate (SKAF), organized national meetings with representatives for nursing assistants, and Birgitta Engström was the representative of the nurse trade union  (the former SHSTF). In the following inspection project, Rune Lindberg and Weine Andersson were the two outstanding regional business associates from the Swedish Work Environment Agency. Later, Lilian Grankull was a prime municipal coordinator in Umeå for two large projects on social services outlined on this website. Per Wikberg was our important collaborator and link to the Swedish Defense Research Agency.

The formal documentation of dissertations and undergraduate theses (THEMES) includes most coworkers and advanced students in R&D for the period 1991-2007, while the department documentation about the many ambitious students from the previous period 1976-1990 is not available to us at present.

Our unit should praise a few colleagues with exceptional administrative responsibility and capability: Lauritz Brännström, director of studies for the Department of Psychology, Umeå University, till he quit in 1997, replaced as director of studies for the ArbOrg Unit by Jonas Wikman in 1999-2005. Helena  Holmström-Strehlenert was the first skilled head of the ArbOrg administrative office, later replaced by Elisabet Höög. The latter perfected the service for the ArbOrg Unit and ArbOrg Utveckling AB. Phoebe Mugerwa acted as administrative assistent and Torbjörn Danielsson, Johan Hansson and Anita Pettersson-Strömbäck as research assistents. Harriet Hjelm at the Department of Psychology, Umeå University, supported us kindly and competently with her managerial and social skills before and after the ArbOrg Unit became an autonomous working unit at Umeå University.

The last teaching team at the ArbOrg Unit included Monica Nyström, Bo Strangert, Christine Strangert, Erik Sälg, Jonas Wikman, and Leif Wågman. Per Wikberg at the Swedish Defence Research Agency collaborated with the ArbOrg Unit and ArbOrg Utveckling AB in education and research. Bo Strangert contributed to teaching and supervision at the Department of Human Work Science, Division of Technical Psychology, Luleå Technical University, and continued after 2005 a project cooperation with Eva Mauritzson-Sandberg at Medical Management Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. Collaboration with Berndt Brehmer at Swedish Defence University, Department of Military Studies, started in 2007, exchanging ideas and teaching development officers in action research. The Swedish Defense Research Agency and the Swedish Defence University engaged Bo Strangert from 2004 to 2012. Lauritz Brännström moved in 1998 to Linköping University but has continued his close cooperation with Communication Research Unit.

The Communication Research Unit, including Elisabet Höög, Raquel Sanchez Lopez, Bo Strangert, Anna Westerlund, Jonas Wikman, and Leif Wågman, continued 2005 the applied R&D projects for ArbOrg Utveckling AB.

From 1974 to 2012, we worked with more than a hundred diverse R&D cases in the public and private sectors. We include only a few of those projects and participants on this website.