About the centre
OCRights is a research centre focused on children’s rights, protection and living conditions. The centre is part of OsloMet, with the goal to develop interdisciplinary knowledge on how society can better prevent harm, protect children, and support rehabilitation and recovery when harm has occurred.
Our research is built around four main pillars:
- Organisation, Governance and Law
- Qualification, Artificial Intelligence and Simulation
- Practice and Service Delivery
- Social and Structural Conditions
Organisation, Governance and Law
This area of OCRights’ research focuses on the legal, organisational and governance structures that shape child protection. It includes studies of national and international legal obligations, with particular attention to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the right to rehabilitation.
Research in this area also examines professional ethics and ethical dilemmas in child protection interventions, including questions related to coercion, family separation and the balancing of different rights and responsibilities. It looks at how political and bureaucratic procedures influence the implementation of child protection policy, and how leadership strategies within child protection services affect professional practice.
The area also includes comparative research on children’s rights and protection legislation across different countries, as well as studies of collaboration between child protection services, health services and education. In addition, it addresses how knowledge from research can inform policy development at local and national levels.
Qualification, Artificial Intelligence and Simulation
This area of OCRights’ research focuses on professional training, artificial intelligence and simulation-based learning in child protection. It includes the development and study of realistic simulation tools for handling complex child protection cases, with attention to how professionals can practice communication, crisis management and decision-making in demanding situations.
The research examines how legal and ethical questions can be integrated into training scenarios, and how simulation can support reflective practice among professionals. It also explores how artificial intelligence may be used in training and decision-support processes, including how AI-based tools can contribute to professional development.
Another part of this area concerns the modernisation of service design. This includes research on how technology can be used to improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of services, while still taking account of professional judgement and the rights of children and families.
Practice and Service Delivery
This area of OCRights’ research focuses on how child protection services are organised and delivered in practice. It includes studies of digital tools, case management systems and risk assessment tools, as well as how such technologies are developed and implemented in child protection settings.
The research also examines ethical technology integration, particularly how digital solutions can be used in ways that protect children’s best interests and safeguard privacy. It looks at innovative models of service delivery, including the use of digital platforms, and how these may affect the relationship between professionals, children and families.
In addition, this area includes research on the evaluation and improvement of professional practice. It addresses interdisciplinary collaboration between different professional groups, and how services can be adapted to individual needs, cultural background and local contexts.
Social and Structural Conditions
This area of OCRights’ research focuses on the broader social, economic and structural conditions that influence children’s living conditions and risk over time. It includes studies of how family economy and critical life events may affect the risk of child welfare involvement, and how this risk develops across different stages of childhood.
The research also examines how general social policy reforms and welfare programmes may influence the prevalence of child welfare involvement across socioeconomic groups. This includes attention to local community conditions, municipal economy, and the social, economic and cultural environments in which children and families live.
Another part of this area concerns children’s pathways into adulthood. OCRights studies how the transition from childhood to adult life may be shaped by family background, neighbourhood conditions, local policy, health, economy, social relations and culture. This research places child protection within a wider social and structural context, rather than treating it only as a matter of individual cases or single services.
