Gunilla AvbySenior lecturer
About me
I am a Ph.D. and associate professor in pedagogy at Stockholm University and an associate professor in quality improvement and leadership at Jönköping University. My theoretical expertise primarily revolves around knowledge utilization and workplace learning. I am particularly interested in the conditions for learning and the development of professional expertise in light of society's increasing reliance on evidence. The interplay between theory and practice plays a prominent role in my research, as well as other paradoxes present in the workplace, such as the relationship between new and old, structure and chaos, control and creativity, standardization and flexibility.
Ongoing Projects:
In 2022, my colleagues and I were awarded 12 million SEK from the KK Foundation for a four-year research project. Our aim is to investigate how organizations can establish sustainable systems for leadership development that promote goal achievement while managing continuous change. To achieve this goal, the project will collaborate with several companies and organizations with a strong interest in leadership development. The project builds on previous projects primarily conducted in healthcare, focusing on the conditions for learning and innovative work. Together with practice, we have developed, tested, and evaluated leadership support to systematically work with innovation processes in primary care.
In 2023, we initiated a collaborative project with R&D in Sörmland focusing on preventing falls among older adults. The aim is to develop a fall prevention program built around comprehensive knowledge support for use in municipalities, regions, and civil society. The project has been granted 2 million SEK from Forte Welfare Research, where we, together with relevant stakeholders, develop collaboration platforms and monitor how the work is being used in practice.
I have diverse work experience as a manager and HR strategist in public administration. Before starting my employment at Stockholm University, I served as department head and scientific leader at R&D Northwest in Stockholm.
I have also held national roles as an expert and researcher. My most recent expert assignment was for the Future Social Services investigation.
Thesis
Avby, G. (2015) Evidence in practice. On knowledge use and learning in social work. Linköping: Linköpings Universitet.
Peer Reviewed articles
Karlsson, H., Avby, G. & Svendsen, T. (2020) QUAL – A perfomance management system for the analytical stage of child-protection investigations. Child & Family Social Work.
Hasson, H., Gröndal, H., Hedberg Rundgren, Å., Avby, G., Uvhagen, H. & von Thiele Schwarz, U. (2020) How can evidence-based interventions give the best value for users in social services? Balance between adherence and adaptions: a study protocol. Implementation Science Communications, 1(15).
Avby, G. & Kjellström, S. (2019) LearnOvation: an intervention to foster exploration and exploitation behavior in health care management in daily practice. BMC Health Services Research, 19(319).
Avby, G., Kjellström, S. & Andersson Bäck, M. (2019) Tending to innovate in a Swedish primary health care context. BMC Health Services Research, 19(42).
Karlsson, H., Avby, G. & Svendsen, T. (2019) QUAT – A tool for evalutating the quality of core assessments in child protection investigations. British Journal of Social Work, 49(7), 1875-1892.
Areskoug Josefsson, K., Avby, G., Andersson Bäck, M. & Kjellström, S. (2018) Workers´ experiences f healthy work environment indicators at well-functioning primary care units in Sweden: a qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 36(4), 406-414.
Kjellström, S., Avby, G., Areskoug-Josefsson, K., Andersson Gäre, B. & Andersson Bäck, M. (2017) Work motivation among healthcare professionals: A study of well-functioning primary healthcare centers in Sweden. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 31(4), 487-502.
Avby, G., Nilsen, P. & Ellström, P-E. (2017) Knowledge use and learning in everyday social work practice: A study in child investigation work. Child & Family Social Work. 21(4), 51-61.
Avby, G. (2016) Att genom reflektion organisera för en medveten och kunskapsrik praktik. Pedagogisk forskning I Sverige, årg. 21(3-4), 261-282.
Avby, G. (2015) Professional practice as processes of muddling through: a study of learning and sense making in social work. Studies in Vocational and Professional Education, 8(1), 95-113.
Avby, G., Nilsen, P. & Abrant Dahlgren, M. (2013) Ways of understanding evidence-based practice in social work: a qualitative study British Journal of Social Work, 44(6), 1366-1383.
Nilsen, P., Nordström G. & Ellström, P-E. (2012) Integrating research-based and practice-based knowledge through workplace reflection. Journal of Workplace Learning, 24(6), 403-415.
Teaching Material and Popular Science Material
Kjellström, S. & Avby, G. (2021) Vardagsslit ger mer än dyra chefskurser. Dagens Samhälle, ledarskap 2021-05-27.
Avby, G. & Kjellström, S. (2021) Inga bevis för att chefer blir bättre av att gå på kurs. Dagens Nyheter, debattartikel 2021-04-22.
Avby, G. (2018) Att utveckla professionell expertis. En bok om kunskap och lärande. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Avby, G. & Kjellström, S. (2020) Innovationskraft i vardagens processer. Chefer & Ledare i vården, nr 4, årgång 52, s. 24-27.
Kjellström, S. & Avby, G. (2020) Metoder i vårdens vardag för att skapa kreativitet och delaktighet. Chefer & Ledare i vården, nr 4, årgång 52, s. 28-30.
Kjellström, S. & Avby, G. (2020) Hälsa Vårdmagasinet, nr 3, s. 16-17.
Avby, G, Kjellström, S., Areskoug Josefsson, K., Andersson Gäre, B., Andersson Bäck, M. Sparf, A. & Siljehult, M. (2017) Samarbete bygger en stark primärvård. Dagens Nyheter 2017-08-17, ISSN 1101-2447.
Avby, G. & Arnsvik, A. (2017) Vem formar professionen? Socionomen, nr. 1, 2017, s. 74-75.
Nordström, G. (2004) Vuxnas lärande otydligt inslag i lärarutbildningar. Tidningen KOM, nr. 2 maj, 2004, årgång 30, s. 40-41.
Reports
Avby, G. (2018) En lärande socialtjänst. I SOU 2018:32 Ju förr desto bättre – vägar till en förebyggande socialtjänst. Delbetänkande för Framtidens socialtjänst. Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik.
Kjellström S., G. Avby, M. Andersson Bäck, K. Areskoug-Josefsson. B. Andersson Gäre (2017) PM till Tillitsdelegationen, Ledarskap och arbetssätt vid välfungerade vårdcentraler.
Nordström, G. & Bengtsson-Sandberg, K. (2004) Kunskapslyftet – Ett lyft för hela själen. Högskolan i Jönköping: Encell.
Book Chapters
Avby, G. (2016) Organizing for deliberate practice through workplace reflection. In S. Billett, D. Dymock & S. Choy (eds.) Supporting learning across working life: Models, processes and practices. Springer Publ. Netherlands.
Avby, G., Nilsen, P. & Ellström, P-E. (2015) Evidence-based practice in practice - the case of social work. In M. Elg, M. Klofsten, P-E. Ellström & M. Tillmar (eds.) Substainable development in organizations, Edward Elgar Publ., UK.
Nordström, G. (2009) Gränsöverskridande kunskapsbildning – praktik och teori i interaktion. In M. Elg & B. Andersson Gäre (eds.) Vägval och dilemman i interaktiv forskning. Högskolan i Jönköping.
Research projects
Publications
A selection from Stockholm University publication database
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Quality of the analysis-A performance management system for the analytical stage of child-protection investigations
2020. Henrik Karlsson, Gunilla Avby, Tore Svendsen. Child & Family Social Work
ArticleRead more about Quality of the analysis-A performance management system for the analytical stage of child-protection investigationsThis article presents a performance management system for reviewing the quality of written analyses in child-protection investigations. The system, called quality of the analysis (QUAL), is based on the Swedish adaptation of the British Integrated Children's System and Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families called Children's Needs in Focus (BBIC). QUAL was applied to 280 child-protection investigations to review the compliance with the BBIC standards. The investigations took place in 2011 and 2014. The results indicate improvements in various quality indicators, such as answers provided to all investigative questions, both risk and protective factors documented, and an assessment of the child's need for protection or support documented. However, in 40% of the investigations from 2014, the analytical stage was more a summary than an analysis. Many countries struggle to find and develop tools that can provide feasible systematic feedback on professional performance and support quality improvement in child-protection work. We suggest that QUAL can be used as one method among others to develop and strengthen the analytical work in practice by visualizing and monitoring the written analysis. QUAL may function as a tool to stimulate professional development, facilitate organizational learning, and improve investigative work.
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An integrative learning approach
2022. Gunilla Avby. Learning Organization
ArticleRead more about An integrative learning approachPurpose - This paper aims to explore whether the principles behind improvement methods and the underlying learning orientations of ambidexterity have the potential to support the managing of ideas for implementation.
Design/methodology/approach - By combining improvement methods and ambidexterity, this study presents a pragmatic framework for innovative working with a scientific underpinning linked to organizational learning.
Findings - The descriptive stages in the plan-do-check-act method for improvement are instructive in their focus on progress and helpful in untangling the more explanatory nature of ambidexterity to frame innovative working.
Research limitations/implications - Although the framework's usefulness for innovative working is subject to future studies, the implementation, validation and results of the framework in pilot research may contribute to the body of knowledge.
Practical implications - The proposed framework can be used in teaching the key role of strategic leadership to explore and exploit over time. The framework has the potential to guide innovative working in practice by making better use of the employees' tacit knowledge in such a way that they are empowered to explore new ways of defining problems and searching for solutions to improve organizational performance. The results of the implementation will impact the employees' quality of life.
Originality/value - This study advances the current understanding of how the seemingly contradictory activities of exploration and exploitation can model an integrative learning approach.
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Fostering exploration and exploitation behavior in management teams to enhance organizational performance
2022. Sofia Kjellström (et al.). Leadership & Organization Development Journal
ArticleRead more about Fostering exploration and exploitation behavior in management teams to enhance organizational performancePurpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact and effectiveness of the LearnOvation leadership development program in the welfare services sector in Sweden.
Design/methodology/approach - LearnOvation was based on ambidexterity theory for the program content and the research study design. A mixed-method design was applied, using questionnaires among staff (n = 523) and written evaluations with the management teams (n = 60).
Findings - Quantitative analysis of the questionnaires indicated little change in managers' and staffs' innovation behaviors, though employee exploration behaviors were strongly and positively correlated with their innovation behaviors. Qualitative leader-written evaluations reported increased understanding of innovation management and the use of exploration and exploitation activities to involve staff in the implementation of creative ideas within the organization.
Practical implications - The authors argue that innovating is about creating a fertile ground for exploration and exploitation processes of learning that support staff's willingness to meet goals, as well as their capability to explore new ideas and experiment in new ways of working. Leadership development activities that engage the entire management team can build the necessary capacity and power to lead innovation processes in highly structured welfare services and free the employees' innovativeness, potentially leading to improved services and employee satisfaction.
Originality/value - With the goal of enhancing the innovation capacity in daily practice, this study adds to the scarcity of research in welfare services on how to actually support management's work on leading successful implementation of creative ideas.
Show all publications by Gunilla Avby at Stockholm University