We have asked and listened – what is happening now in the RUS process?

2024 was the year of conversation for Region Norrbotten's regional development department. From February to November, we collected the thoughts, needs, suggestions and opinions of the people of Norrbotten about Norrbotten's path to 2040. Now the work begins to transform the suggestions into a new regional development strategy (RUS).

The goal was to get to know many perspectives, from all parts of the county. Therefore, we have visited all the municipalities in the county and held full-day workshops that anyone could sign up for. There we have met politicians and people who work with development issues in the municipalities. But also teachers, pensioners and representatives of the business community and associations.

The young people of Norrbotten will be adults in 2040, and we wanted to know what was important to them. We have spoken to young people at, among other places, the leisure centre in Övertorneå, at the UF fair, with a couple of school classes in Kalix and with the youth council in Boden. We have interviewed adults who work with young people and had a campaign on TikTok. To support this, we have had specially designed workshop material for young people, and the so-called “open question” where we asked a single question about what is important for a good life in Norrbotten in the future.

In addition, we have had special dialogues with national minorities and the indigenous Sami people, with community planners, educational associations, leadership networks, the County Administrative Board, the business community, SFI students and visiting students from other countries.

Arvidsjaur was one of the first municipalities on the long RUS tour. Kristin Hammarberg from RISE was the workshop leader there. Photo: Gustav Edman

1500 entries

As a complement to the other methods, we launched a workshop film that provided the opportunity to hold a workshop on your own, with at least three people, in just over an hour. Several industry organizations and activists in the community, among others, chose to hold one.

In total, we have received over 1500 entries for RUS:

481 entries came from municipal dialogues and theme dialogues
338 responses came from "workshop on your own"          
410 responses came from the "open question"
165 responses came from workshop with young people
17 responses from interviews with adults who work with young people
86 responses came from visiting students from other countries

In addition, there are responses from some workshops where we lack statistics on the number of participants.

“Thank you to everyone who gave of their time”

- We made an effort to reach out to many people from Norrbotten, even people we don't usually meet in our networks and collaborations. But it wouldn't have worked if so many hadn't actually taken up the offer to join in and contribute. We are so grateful to everyone who gave of their time and commitment, says Tove Cullhed, process manager for RUS.

After a year of dialogues, the RUS work is now entering the next phase for Tove Cullhed and her colleagues. Photo: Sara Stylbäck Vesa. 

What do we do now with this large amount of material? Well, we compile and analyze the feedback to find the larger patterns, what many have pointed out as important to collaborate on on our path towards 2040. With the help of AI, we analyze the large amounts of data to produce summary reports. On the RUS overview, we have linked to reports from the municipalities we have visited.

Once the analysis is complete, work will begin on writing an initial proposal for a new RUS. It will be a document that encompasses the needs, challenges and visions that the people of Norrbotten have contributed. Several employees with different areas of responsibility within regional development will participate in this work.

- We will now take care of the input we have received in the best way possible and take into account the different conditions for development that exist in different parts of the county, says Tove Cullhed.

From referral to completed RUS

In April, the proposal will be put out for consultation. This means that it is possible to review the first proposal and give your opinion on it. Perhaps there is something that needs to be given more weight or some additions that may be needed? At this stage, it is still possible to influence the final result.

From June 1, we will review the consultation responses. Based on them, we will process the new RUS one more time before the finished version goes forward for political decision.

The final version will be ready in October 2025, after which it will go through the political process. In December 2025, Norrbotten's new regional development strategy will be approved by the regional council.

How do I participate in the process so far?

Anyone who wants to take part in the feedback we have received can visit developorrbotten.se/rus, where there are articles from each municipal dialogue and some dialogue meetings with other groups.

There is also a RUS overview where you can move around, zoom in and out and click on links. There are, among other things, reports in PDF format from the dialogue meetings. You do not need to log in, just click on “View as a visitor”. You can find the overview here.

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa