Its purpose is to "produce systematic knowledge on working life" based on industrial and organizational psychology and other social sciences.
It is part of Oslo Metropolitan University and was formerly an independent state-owned research institute from its establishment in 1964 until 2014.
[1] The institute was organized as a government agency under the Ministry of Labour and Government Administration until 2002, when it became a wholly owned governmental limited company, since 2005 administered by the Ministry of Education and Research.
The institute publishes series of reports, occasional papers and monographs.
[2] The institute's history is linked to the action research tradition where partaking in development work is central.