Vårdalinstitutet - The Swedish Institute for Health Sciences - is financed by the Vardal Foundation, the Universities of Göteborg and Lund, Region Västra Götaland and Region Skåne. The work is carried out in collaboration with the Federation of Local Authorities in Skåne, with individual municipalities in Skåne, and with VästKom.

The Institute is a national environment for research and development in the field of health care and social service in close cooperation with the universities and the health care principals.

The Institute has four components:

* Research

* Postgraduate studies

* Postdoctoral studies

* Communication and exchange of knowledge between professionals - persons involved in research, education, and various health care services - and the public, above all trough ICT (Information and Communication Technology), in what is known as the Thematic Rooms.

Training of study circle leaders

Each semester the institutearranges training of study circle leaders active in the health care and social service sector. The training is carried out simultaneously with the participants conducting a study circle either at their place of work or somewhere else within their organisation. The study materials are retrieved from the thematic rooms presented as curriculum.

Activities

The activities within the Institute takes the perspective of the indivual in a social context and with a multidisciplinary approach. The Institute is led by a board representing the partners and the director together with the assistant director are responsible for management of the Institute.