Human-Centered Digitalisation
International Conference on Sociotechnical Organisational Design
Welcome to the yearly conference by the Global Network for SMART Organization Design,
this time hosted by the Norwegian STS Kompetansenettverk
23 - 26 September 2025 in Trondheim, Norway
STS Consulting
The theme of this year’s pre-conference is STS Consultancy. To highlight the diversity within STS approaches, we have invited representatives from a range of traditions to share their perspectives and practices. These approaches vary not only in their theoretical foundations but also in their organizational settings. Some consultants operate through independent companies, while others are affiliated with research institutes that provide consultancy services. The professional orientations also differ: some emphasize organizational development and engagement with trade unions, while others focus on the sociotechnical balance in the implementation of new technology and software. This diversity is a strength—and one that we aim to explore and learn from across traditions and contexts. We are pleased to welcome contributors from North America, Australia, and Europe, each of whom will present their STS consultancy approaches as shaped by their local environments and institutional settings.
Parallel Sessions and Participant Contributions
We open the conference with parallel sessions featuring presentations, roundtables, panel discussions, and other activities led by the conference participants themselves. The program for this day is organized with keynote speakers addressing important aspects of human-centered digitalization, as well as various tracks and slots that allow participants to choose which topics and discussions, they wish to engage in. Several of the slots are already filled with engaging topics relevant to the conference, while others remain open to proposals. If you would like to contribute an activity, please contact the design committee — we will do our utmost to make room for it in the program! New this year: One of the parallel sessions is dedicated to paper presentations. This offers researchers and PhD candidates the opportunity to present their research findings and receive constructive feedback. For more information about the research session, se Call for Abstracts below.
Keynote Speakers
Eric Monteiro is a professor at the Department of Computer Science at NTNU. His primary field of interest is digitalization of organizations. Key concerns include challenges of integration, change and standardization, particularly the interplay between 'technical' and non-technical design decisions especially in large-scale ("infrastructural") projects. He is the author of “Digital Oil”, studying how digitalization of the offshore oil industry changes how we understand work and ways of knowing, but his work has also focused on the health care sector (in Norway and developing countries). Arild Faxvaag is a professor in Healthcare informatics at NTNU. His research is centered around understanding how health professionals and patients utilize knowledge to analyse and solve health problems and around using this insight to develop IT-solutions that enables patients, personnel, institutions and governments to realize knowledge-based care in a safe, effective, equal and more sustainable way. Arild Faxvaag is also a senior advisor to Helseplattformen, the core case of the our conference. A/S. Hanne Finnestrand is an Associate Professor of Industrial Economics and Technology Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her primary research interests include sociotechnical systems theory, action research, and organizational learning. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Systemic Practice and Action Research. Hanne is also one of the founders of the STS kompetansenettverk and remains an active member of its board. Trond Hjorteland is an IT architect and socio-technical practitioner with many years of experience from large, complex and business-critical systems in industries such as telecom, media, TV distribution and the public sector. His main interests are service orientation, domain-driven design, event-driven architecture and open socio-technical systems. Trond sits on the board of STS Kompetanse.
Case study: Helseplattformen
Helseplattformen is a major initiative in Central Norway, bringing together municipalities, hospitals, and general practitioners to establish a shared electronic health record (EHR) system across all healthcare services. The first implementation occurred in May 2022 when Trondheim Municipality adopted the system. By February 2025, all three regional hospital trusts—with a total of nine hospitals—and 34 municipalities have implemented the platform. Additionally, two out-of-hours emergency clinics and two general practitioner offices have adopted the system. This integration aims to improve patient safety, enhance collaboration, and provide real-time access to health information throughout the patient journey. Structured Documentation A key feature of Helseplattformen is its use of structured documentation. Healthcare professionals enter more patient information in standardized formats rather than free text. This approach improves data quality and facilitates easier information sharing but represents a significant change in documentation practices. Adjusting to this requires training and adaptation. Challenges and Current Status The implementation of Helseplattformen has faced several challenges. Most of these were more prominent in the initial implementation phase. However, there are remaining socio-technical challenges which we will have the opportunity to discuss during the conference together with personnel from Helseplattformen. As of March 2025, efforts continue to enhance the system's usability and efficiency, aiming to ensure that Helseplattformen effectively supports healthcare professionals and improves patient care across Central Norway.
Schedule
In a time of rapid technological changes that strongly affect our lives and workplaces, the importance of prioritizing human-centered work design for well-being, engagement, sustainable productivity, and innovation adoption in these transitions has never been more urgently felt.
We have tried to put human-centered work design on the agenda in various ways throughout the conference to make it interesting for the participants. It starts at the pre-conference with the theme of STS consultancy. This is a topic we have rarely discussed—how can one promote human-centered job design as a consultant? We have chosen to ask representatives from different countries and continents to share their practices and experiences. With this diverse starting point, we hope to foster meaningful discussions and reflections between presenters and participants.
On the first day of the conference, we have introduced a deliberation day with parallel tracks where different topics will be discussed in various sessions. Here, participants can choose which topics and discussions they wish to engage in. At the same time, a separate track is dedicated to the presentation and discussion of paper ideas (see more information below).
On the second day of the conference – the case day, we will visit Helseplattformen. Helseplattformen is developing a shared electronic health record (EHR) system across all healthcare services, from advanced surgery to primary healthcare, for the whole of Mid-Norway. Helseplattformen invites us to take part in the study of a large, complex case about the intersection of sociotechnical work design and technology implementation, framed by academic and political debate, while it is still under development and implementation.
We hope this will encourage valuable sociotechnical reflections on solutions to real-world challenges.
The keynote speakers will share state of the art knowledge about technology work intersections from their different perspectives. We hope your contributions will help bring the conference together as a cohesive whole
Friday is the summary day, where we try to bring together what we have covered during the three days of the conference and look ahead to next year's STS Roundtable in Germany
Date | Day | Topic | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
23 September | Pre-Conference | STS consultancy with contributors from different traditions | NTNU |
24 September | Deliberation day | Diverse topics – keynotes and three parallel tracks | Conference hotel |
25 September | Case day | Visiting Helseplattformen – presentations – challenges - discussion | Helseplattformen |
26 September | Summary and Looking Ahead Day | Summing up the discussions from day 1 and day 2 | Conference hotel |
Call for Abstracts
The first day of the conference will have parallel tracks where different topics will be discussed in various sessions, one of which will be dedicated to the presentation and discussion of paper ideas. We invite researchers, practitioners, and more to submit an abstract for a presentation on this track.
Venues
Conference hotel
The primary conference venue is the Radisson Blu Royal Garden Hotel, with picturesque and convenient accommodation for visitors looking to explore this beautiful Norwegian city.
Discounted conference rates at 1795 NOK per night.
Additional venues
Gløshaugen
Gløshaugen is one of the campuses for NTNU. It is located on a height above the Nidelven river opposite the Nidaros Cathedral. The main building was built in 1910-1915 for the National Technical College. It is within walking distance from the conference hotel, through the picturesque Bakklandet (approx 25 minutes).
Helseplattformen
The offices of Helseplattformen are located in Pirsenteret at Trondheim harbour. It is a 15 minutes walk from the conference hotel.
Nidaros Cathedral
The Nidaros Cathedral are visible from all around Trondheim and is located a 10 minutes walk from the conference hotel.
Practical info
It is possible to get to Trondheim by both train and plane. For those arriving in Trondheim by train, the conference hotel is just a short walk from the train station. If you arrive by plane, there are good bus and train connections from the airport to the city center of Trondheim, where the conference hotel is located.
We have chosen a conference hotel located right in the city center. Its location makes it easy to reach the venues where the conference activities take place. Even though we are situated downtown, the distances to various historic sites are short. If you choose a different hotel from the conference hotel, the distance between the hotels is still small—everything is within walking distance
The activities during the conference – the pre-conference, the deliberation day, the case day, and the concluding final day – will take place at various venues in the city, but all of them are within walking distance from the conference hotel.
The conference program includes a concert at Nidaros Cathedral on Tuesday evening after the pre-conference has been completed, which is well worth attending. The Cathedral is in the heart of Trondheim. The church is a national shrine – a richly decorated Gothic masterpiece. The cathedral is built over the grave of Saint Olav, the Viking king who Christianized Norway and became the country’s eternal king.
As per tradition, a conference dinner is planned for Thursday evening, which we hope everyone will be able to attend. After good and lengthy sociotechnical discussions, it’s nice and exciting to get to know each other better in a slightly more informal setting.
About
The STS Roundtable is an annual conference where we place human-centered work design on the agenda. The conference has alternated between North America and Europe and is owned by a global STS network consisting of various national and continental networks.
The rapid technological development in recent decades has brought the "traditional" sociotechnical experts closer to agile environments that develop new digital solutions. This has created a new dynamic in both communities and has contributed to growing interest in sociotechnical issues. The fact that next year's STS Roundtable will be held in Germany reflects this. At the same time, the global network is looking to further expand its activities into new countries and continents.
At the same time, we see that both the rapid technological changes and environmental challenges are becoming increasingly prominent, demanding swift responses and actions. Maintaining a focus on human-centered work systems during this transformation highlights the relevance of the conference, as well as our research and development approaches.