On 15 August, Bjørn Henrichsen will step down as Director of NSD – Norwegian centre for research data. He has been NSD’s Director since 1975, except for a brief two-year period from 1981 to 1983, when he was Assistant University Director of the University of Bergen.

Henrichsen has played a crucial role for social science and research infrastructures in Norway and in Europe. He chaired Social Sciences and Humanities in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) for six years and has been the Norwegian delegate to ESFRI since 2004. He received a knighthood of the first class of St. Olav for his work for society and together with NSD received the EU’s Descartes Award in 2005 for efforts setting up the European Social Survey (ESS). Until recently, he was chair of the Board of Directors of CESSDA AS.

"Bjørn Henrichsen has been a strong and effective advocate for the building of European research infrastructures in the social sciences for many years, and the establishment of CESSDA as an ERIC stands as a testimony to his achievements," stated Ron Dekker, Director of CESSDA ERIC.

Vigdis Kvalheim, currently Deputy Director, has been appointed as the new Director. She has been at NSD for many years and leads the Data Protection Services and the Individual Level Data Unit. Kvalheim is also actively involved in infrastructure activities on Nordic and European levels.

“I look forward to this great opportunity to steer NSD through a decisive time in its history. We will continue to work closely with our national and European colleagues over the coming period to ensure the best outcome for social science researchers in Norway and abroad. I am grateful for the highly-skilled staff that we have at NSD and look forward to working with them,” stated Vigdis Kvalheim.

More information:

• NSD news story (in Norwegian)
• Photo credits: Bjarne Øymyr, NSD.