Sweden and the world are facing multiple crises and complex societal challenges, and there is a pressing need for research-based knowledge to identify new and effective ways forward. The KRAFT initiative (Knowledge, Advice, Research, Analysis, Application) was established in response to this need.
The purpose of KRAFT is to collaborate with Sweden’s elected representatives and create a platform for mutual dialogue and deeper understanding of the specific conditions and societal contributions of research in the humanities and social sciences. KRAFT serves as a critical and constructive dialogue partner to decision-makers and aims to strengthen society’s democratic capacity and its ability to address key societal challenges. The initiative seeks to identify issues of future societal importance at an early stage and provide the knowledge base needed to address them.
There are several Swedish organizations which successfully bring together voices from engineering, natural sciences, and medicine to facilitate collaboration and bridge the gap between decision-makers and researchers. Equivalent platforms representing the humanities and social sciences are, however, few. As a result, Swedish policymaking risks overlooking essential knowledge inputs in making important political decisions and failing to detect emerging societal problems in time. The lack of dialogue between politicians and researchers in the humanities and social sciences also risks undermining mutual understanding of how research and policymaking are conducted. KRAFT aims to address this gap.
