Research

Our research

Our research group conducts high-impact, interdisciplinary research that strengthens societal resilience, societal security, and public trust in an increasingly digital and interconnected world. Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our work contributes in particular to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Resilient Communities), SDG16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). We support a sustainable, peaceful, and equitable society by engineering trustworthy digital solutions that are technically robust, socially responsible, and institutionally viable.

A defining characteristic of our group is its socio‑technical perspective. We analyze how citizens, digital technologies, and governance institutions interact to build open strategic autonomy and system reliability under stress. Socio-technical systems are living ecosystems where humans, data, organizations, regulations, and critical infrastructures are tightly integrated. Our research focuses on optimizing these complex architectures so that communities function securely and fairly—even during severe disruptions driven by cyber threats, rapid digitalization, and climate-related crisis events. 

Socio-Technical Systems

Our socio-technical systems research examines how key enabling technologies including Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud-Edge Infrastructures, and Big Data Analytics—are embedded into complex operational settings. By combining advanced machine learning, human-centered design, and data-driven public services, we build people-first intelligent systems that synthesize complex information in real time while maintaining strict human-in-the-loop oversight. We place heavy emphasis on responsible AI governance, data privacy, ethics, and compliance with emerging regulatory frameworks (such as the EU AI Act), enabling responsible innovation across public services, mobility, energy, health, and agriculture. 

Secure Societies & Disaster Resilience

Our secure societies research tackles disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, crisis management, and infrastructure protection. We study how societies can prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from hybrid threats, cybercrime, online harms, and social fragmentation. Key research areas include social cybersecurity, critical infrastructure resilience, emergency response coordination, and community preparedness. Our work empowers public authorities, security practitioners, and civil society with actionable methods and software tools to ensure operational continuity and legitimacy during crisis events. 

Human–Machine Teaming and Resilient Collaboration

A core capability of our group is pioneering research in human–machine teaming and hybrid intelligence. We analyze how human decision-makers and automated agents collaborate in safety-critical environments. By evaluating dynamic team structures and human-AI friction points, we enhance situational awareness, shared mental models, and adaptive decision support. This ensures that collaborative human-AI units remain resilient, transparent, and effective under extreme uncertainty. 

The group possesses extensive methodological expertise in requirements engineering, specification analysis, and empirical frameworks, including action research and real-world case studies. We bridge early-stage research with market and societal uptake by validating technology solutions through large-scale pilots, living labs, and demonstration in operational environments (higher TRLs). We bring strong end-user and practitioner networks, offering cross-sector expertise, technical insight, and a proven track record of converting research into actionable, policy-aligned outcomes.

We collaborate closely with leading academic institutions, public administration bodies, industry leaders, and non-governmental organizations across Norway, Europe, and globally. As an active project partner, work package lead and a project lead in national (NFR) and European (Horizon Europe) initiatives, we serve as a key bridge between cutting-edge digital research and the practical, mission-oriented needs of society.