Research profile

Lars Skov Henriksen (b. 1961) is a professor of sociology at the Department of Society and Politics, Aalborg University. For many years, Lars Skov Henriksen has conducted research on the relationship between civil society and the welfare state, welfare policies in a comparative perspective, changes in voluntary engagement among Nordic populations, and transformations of organizational forms within civil society. In recent years, his research interests have focused on mobilization and civic engagement in the climate field at the intersection of social movements and environmental organizations. 

He has led several large-scale studies on civil society, voluntary organizations, and volunteer engagement. Currently he is PI for the "LocGreen - Local Green Capacity Building" project about nature organizations' influence in the Danish Green Tripartitet Agreement, funded by VELUX FOUNDATION (2025-2028). Other recent research projects include “Match – Recruitment and Retention of Volunteers in Civil Society Organizations” funded by the VELUX FOUNDATION (2020–2022) and “CIVIC – Labour Market Inclusion through Civic Participation” funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (2021–2024) in collaboration with Hans-Peter Y. Qvist. 

Lars Skov Henriksen's research is widely recognized nationally and internationally, and he has published in journals such as Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Journal of Civil Society, VOLUNTAS – International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations, and Journal of Social Policy. 

He has led the sociological research group CASTOR and served as the program director for the PhD program in sociology and social work at the Department of Sociology and Social Work. From 2024 to 2025 he served as Vice Head of Department for Research at the Department for Sociology and Social Work. 

From 2012 to 2022, Lars Skov Henriksen was a board member of the National Center for Voluntary Social Work, appointed by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Social Sciences. Since 2019, he has been a board member of the Danish National Centre for Social Research (VIVE), appointed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark.