Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research is an independent research foundation, which conducts social science and research on a wide area of working life and welfare state issues. Research on industrial relations issues is a core area, along with social policy, lifelong learning, enterprise development and labour migration. Fafo has participated in a number of European projects, is the national centre for EIRO (European Industrial Relations Observatory), and is involved in a number of Nordic and European networks.
Fafo has vast and longstanding traditions of research on Vocational Education and Training (VET). Over a span of more than 20 years it has conducted a number of major studies within the fields of labour market training, further- and continuing vocational education, initial vocational education and training, lifelong learning and non-formal and work based learning. The research projects are typically commissioned from the social partners, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Research Council of Norway and the European Commission. Several projects address challenges faced by employers, unions and policy-makers regarding the functioning of VET, and further- and continuing education, and ways to improve the cooperation between educational institutions and the labour market.
The institute is comprised of 80 people (69 researchers). For 2016, Fafo generated 110 million NOK in revenue. Fafo has institutionalized extensive quality assuring systems.