INVEST flagship – Inequalities, interventions and a new welfare state

INVEST is a consortium of centres of excellence at the University of Turku and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) that develops a new welfare model for Finland that is more sustainable.

Research within INVEST is organised around six thematic research areas supported by five research and impact infrastructures. THL participates across several research themes and plays a central role in the flagship’s research and impact infrastructures.

Goals

The goal of INVEST is to develop a more equitable, better targeted, preventive, and economically and socially sustainable welfare state model for Finland. To achieve this, INVEST examines constraints on the well-being and skills of children, young people, and young adults; identifies gaps in welfare state services and benefits; and develops, tests, and evaluates evidence-based interventions aimed at reducing disadvantage.

INVEST shifts the focus of the welfare state from compensation towards prevention.

Implementation

INVEST conducts high-level research ranging from basic science to applied and commercially oriented innovations. The project integrates sociological, social policy, social work, psychological, and child psychiatric research with statistical, economic, and epidemiological approaches. Based on this multidisciplinary foundation, INVEST produces accessible and policy-relevant knowledge, with a particular focus on issues related to the well-being of children, young people, and families.