Elisabeth Gutjahr

Elisabeth Gutjahr is an Associate Professor at the Fribourg School of Social Work, part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO). She holds a main contract as Associate HES Professor and maintains an active research and teaching profile with expertise in quantitative methods, social inequalities, poverty studies, and accessibility. Her institutional affiliations include serving on the ARTIAS committee as a representative of the social work domain of HES-SO since 2016, membership on the Swiss Household Panel scientific commission, and participation in the Swiss Social Work Society (SSTS) board since 2021.

Professor Gutjahr's research interests center on social inequalities, poverty dynamics, precariousness, and socio-professional integration. Her work employs sophisticated quantitative methodologies to examine poverty trajectories, social assistance systems, and the structural factors contributing to social vulnerability. She has developed particular expertise in analyzing how life events, employment status, and family dynamics intersect with poverty experiences. Her research often bridges academic inquiry with practical policy implications, focusing on how social protection systems can be improved to address emerging social risks.

Her publication record reveals consistent engagement with longitudinal analysis of poverty and social assistance. Her work demonstrates a methodological sophistication that combines sequence analysis, growth mixture modeling, and mixed methods approaches. A clear thematic progression shows her moving from foundational work on poverty trajectories to more recent investigations of emergency housing systems and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on independent workers. Her research consistently highlights how social inequalities are embedded in institutional structures rather than merely reflecting individual circumstances.

Professor Gutjahr has secured significant research funding from diverse sources including CDAS, FOPIS, Ville de Fribourg, DGCS Vaud, CSTS, and FNS. Her current projects include analysis of shelters and emergency accommodations on behalf of SODK (as co-applicant) and a study on work quality in social institutions affiliated with INFRI (as principal investigator). She has previously led investigations into social assistance outside LASoc in Fribourg, evaluation of emergency housing in Vaud, dynamics of social assistance in Switzerland, and the impact of patient suicide on professionals.

Her leadership extends beyond research to educational innovation, having conceptualized and implemented bilingual education programs since 2018-2019, co-managed the initial training department from 2016-2020, and previously held responsibility for the social service orientation (2006-2014) and social service program (2005-2006). She has also developed specialized training programs for state employees on violence prevention since 2004 and was instrumental in establishing the social work training program at HETS-FR between 2003-2005.