Professor Larsson was born in 1943. He took his Ph.D. in sociology (1983) at Lund University and became associated professor 1989 in social work at Gothenburg university, Stig Larsson is since 1992 professor in social development. In 1997 he organized HAREC, Disability and Rehabilitation Research Centre at Lund university within corporation with other universities in southern Sweden. He was the director of HAREC 1997-2008.
In the last decades Stig Larsson’s research has mainly been geared to the sphere of disability, where he has led several projects with a multidisciplinary design. But he has done a considerable work also in sociology. social theory, social work, social policy, public health and international social development. He has written more than 20 books and hundreds of articles and book chapters. In his areas, he is recognized as one of the leading researchers in Scandinavia.
Stig Larsson was instrumental in initiating the Sweden association for research on social work (FORSA), which he chaired 1991–95. He also took the initiative to found Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift (Swedish Journal of Social Research), which he edited since it began in 1994 to 2003. He was also one of the founders of the Nordic Network for Disability Research (NNDR), where he sat on the board from the start in 1996 until 2001. He was also the head of the Swedish network of working life research for persons with disabilities (SNOFA). He was president of the Swedish Social Policy Association 2002-2008.
Stig Larsson has a rich international network of contacts. He was a board member of GLADNET, Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network on Employment and Training until 2011. He was the chairperson of the Rehabilitation International, Work & Employment Commission and a member of the Executive Committee of RI 2006-2008. He has also since many years been engaged in the International Consortium of Social Development, ICSD and is a board member of its European Branch since 2006. Stig Larsson himself is visually impaired and one of the very few leading scholars who personally have experienced disablement.
