Ottar Ness

Ottar Ness is a Professor and Head of the WellFare Nordic Research Center for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability at NTNU's Department of Education and Lifelong Learning within the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences. He holds adjunct professorships at the University of Agder and an honorary professorship at Aalborg University. His expertise spans social psychology, family therapy, and action research.

Educations:

• Cand.polit (Master’s) in Educational Psychology (Organizational Development & Leadership)
• Continuing Education in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice
• PhD in Social Psychology

Research focuses on wellbeing, mattering, fairness, relational welfare, mental health recovery, and co-creation in public services. He leads the WellFare Center and co-edits the Nordic Journal of Wellbeing and Sustainable Welfare Development. His work emphasizes participatory methods and systemic approaches to social justice.

Key themes in recent articles include youth social inclusion, recovery-oriented mental health services, policy impacts on wellbeing, and relational approaches to public administration. He has contributed to policy reports on wellbeing economies and mental health stigma reduction.

Awards: None explicitly listed, though his roles and publications reflect distinguished contributions.

Grants and Advising: Oversees WellFare’s projects on collective impact and relational welfare. Supervises master’s and PhD students on topics like citizenship, community participation, and qualitative methodologies. Active in Norway’s mental health service reforms through collaborative research initiatives.

Labs/Teams: Director of NTNU WellFare, a multidisciplinary center advancing Nordic wellbeing research. Collaborates with international teams on projects like the WHO Wellbeing Economy Deep Dives.