Hege Gjertsen

Hege Gjertsen is a Professor at the Department of Social Care, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Her research focuses on social innovation, disability studies, work inclusion, and welfare services organization. She contributes to the Master's in Welfare Change program and is involved in interdisciplinary research projects.

• Current affiliations: Professor (Welfare Sociology)
• Key research areas: Social innovation, Intellectual disability, Work inclusion policies
• Email: hege.gjertsen@uit.no

Her research examines systemic barriers to employment inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, gendered aspects of self-determination, and sustainability in social work. She employs participatory methodologies and contributes to Nordic comparative studies on welfare policies.

Recent publications analyze the Norwegian work line policy, green social work practices, and resource allocation in social innovations. These works emphasize co-creation, organizational challenges, and equity in disability employment.

Hege Gjertsen collaborates on projects like mapping living conditions of Sami individuals with disabilities and participates in the Artful Dementia research group. She teaches in welfare sociology and mentors students in disability research frameworks.