Curious about the process?
The work on the Norrbotten Strategy has been characterized by openness and dialogue. Our ambition has been to create a clear and transparent working process where insight and participation have been a matter of course.
During the process, over 1,500 inputs have been collected from residents, companies, organizations and other stakeholders. Children and young people, national minorities and the indigenous Sami people have also played an important role in the work.
Throughout the work, everyone has had the opportunity to follow the process via our RUS overview.
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Articles
Pajala municipality was the last stop on the long RUS tour. It was a day where both the municipality's problems and strengths were highlighted. - The fact that we are few is both a good thing because then you know everyone, and a problem due to a lack of competence, said Petter Särkijärvi.
Piteå's vision is to be the best place to live. If it is to be realized, it must, among other things, be easy to have fun. “Culture should lead the way in development,” said Roger Norén at Studio Acusticum during the RUS dialogue in Piteå.
Outmigration and low birth rates are worrying Kalix. Could strategic work with ambassadorships be one of the solutions? Kalix has several strengths to build on. – We are close to opportunities, said Susanne Andersson, municipal councilor.
RUS with the County Administrative Board: "The transition must take into account our specific needs"
Fair transition and cultural heritage were in focus when the County Administrative Board spoke about the county's future. “We must ensure that our resources stay here and benefit the people who actually live and work in Norrbotten,” said community planner Marja Sulkki.
Luleå – the industrial city that has become a city of knowledge. One of Sweden's best cities to live in, according to the newspaper Fokus. But even here there are major challenges. At the dialogue meeting about the county's new RUS, goals, pitfalls and solutions were discussed.
What would make you feel even better where you live? What does your dream location look like, and how do you achieve it? Why is a certain issue important to you? These were some of the questions when our youth consultant Isa Ponturo met with the Youth Council in Boden.
Both optimism and frustration characterized the discussion when the RUS tour came to Boden. The participants viewed the possibilities with optimism, but with concern at the lack of commitment from the outside world.
Visions of Kiruna as a student city, better communications and an innovation portal to support new ideas and companies. These were topics that were discussed when Region Norrbotten visited Kiruna to collect ideas, thoughts and opinions for our new RUS.
May offered an early summer day when stakeholders in Älvsbyn gathered to talk about the future. “There are not many municipalities that can match our offer,” said municipal councilor Johan Dahlqvist (M) when the RUS tour came to Älvsbyn.
Collaboration, courage and innovation – these are the keys to Norrbotten 2040. These were the conclusions when the business community gathered for a workshop on the new RUS. – We need a clear plan and a strong network, said Annika Holmström from Almi.
Jokkmokk wants to grow – but in its own way. The municipality's history was included when Jokkmokk looked ahead to 2040. Sustainability, preserved nature and investments in culture and education were in focus during the workshop on the new regional development strategy.
On April 25, the RUS tour went to Övertorneå, the municipality that has begun measuring the well-being of its residents in order to increase this in the long term. There was a conversation about challenges such as skills provision — but also about trust between people and a welcoming culture.
Överkalix may have its challenges – but it is also a municipality that has a lot to offer its residents. There is a quality of life that comes from openness, rich community life, security, nature and affordable housing, said the participants in the RUS dialogue there.
Next up on our RUS tour was Haparanda municipality! The conversation there touched on problems such as loss of residents and high youth unemployment, but also the potential in culture, agriculture and cross-border trade.
This week, companies and municipal representatives from Region Norrbotten gathered for a workshop on the future of Norrbotten. The company day was part of the process of developing a new regional development strategy (RUS).
The RUS tour has now been to Gällivare. There, 41 people met to grapple with issues such as the image of Norrbotten, quality of life, challenges, needs and strengths. Many pointed out education as a problem area.
What resources, needs and wishes does Arvidsjaur have for the future? The second stop on the RUS tour was at Hotel Laponia on February 29. – It is important to work proactively with skills supply, said the municipality's HR manager Mats Lundberg.
After months of preparation, Region Norrbotten's tour of all the municipalities in the county began. First up was Arjeplog where we met around 20 people for a dialogue about the current situation and the future.
Q&A
RUS stands for regional development strategy. It identifies areas where people in the county need to work together to achieve positive development in the long term. The areas selected should be those that many in our county think are important. That is why Region Norrbotten collects thoughts and opinions from around the county, from young and old, organizations, authorities, companies and associations, in various ways.
It is stated in laws and regulations that all of Sweden's 21 regions must have a RUS, and that it must be updated between each election to the regional council.
Working for sustainable development in Norrbotten is like putting together a large puzzle, where different efforts influence each other. It places great demands on cooperation, for example between the municipalities and Region Norrbotten, or between Luleå University of Technology and companies, or between an association and a municipality. You could say that the strategy is a kind of agreement about what is important to focus on, what we should collaborate on and what we should spend money on.
It points out a direction that is then concretized in action plans, which show how we will work to get where we want to be. When we have to choose which companies or projects will receive funds for regional development, it provides guidance. Then we can ask ourselves: which investments will best take us closer to our goals?
It should not cover issues that we in Norrbotten cannot influence. Nor should it be about short-term initiatives, initiatives that are only important locally or that only affect one actor. Benefits in welfare, upgrading a school or a new electric light track are examples of issues that are not affected by the regional development strategy.
Region Norrbotten has been tasked by the government to develop a RUS. This means that we lead the work of collecting thoughts, perspectives, knowledge and opinions. We invite dialogue, take advantage of the views we receive, compile it and write a proposal. When it is completely ready, Region Norrbotten's elected politicians make the decision to adopt it.
In 2024, we will collect input. We invite you to dialogue meetings in all the county's municipalities, but also create ways for anyone to contribute thoughts and ideas about how Norrbotten should develop until 2040. We collect young people's thoughts at youth centers and in schools.
In the end, we have a large amount of material with contributions from many, many people who live and work in Norrbotten. We will then use AI to analyze the material and find the issues and areas that are important to many. It is compiled into a document that contains vision, goals and priorities. It is submitted for consultation and then revised based on the views received before it is adopted by the regional council.
Norrbotten is in the midst of a major industrial restructuring and societal transformation. It affects the entire labor market, the needs for social services, the range of leisure activities and culture, the needs for new housing, the demand for education, the expansion of infrastructure and much more. This affects you and will continue to do so. Regional development is a team effort and all actors in the county are players. Participating in the conversations about the future and being involved in influencing the direction of the county is making a difference.
You can register for a dialogue meeting in a municipality or for one of the theme talks focused on business, associations, cultural life or similar. Anyone can organize or participate in an hour-long workshop with guidance on Youtube. It will also be possible to answer two simple questions on our website. If you are a high school teacher, you are welcome to hold a lesson on the theme with your students, using the guidance on Youtube. On the website evtävänorrbotten.se/rus you can see which dialogue meetings are underway, where you can find the workshop material or the questions that you can answer in free text.
We are preparing in early 2024 and will start in earnest at the end of February. On February 27, we will have a workshop with young people in Arjeplog. On February 28, we will hold a dialogue meeting in Arjeplog and at the same time participate in the Young Entrepreneurship Fair in Luleå. The collection of input will continue for most of 2024. This will be followed in 2025 by compilation and analysis, writing a proposal, sending the proposal for consultation and making adjustments. At the end of 2025, the new strategy will be adopted by the regional council's elected politicians.
A new RUS can be developed in several different ways and with different ambitions. We have chosen to spend almost two years on the process. Norrbotten is in the midst of an industrial and societal transformation that will affect everyone who lives here. Therefore, a comprehensive reworking is required and everyone is given the opportunity to influence the strategy.
No, it is not your knowledge that is in focus, but what you want for Norrbotten. What needs you see and how you want Norrbotten to be in 2040. You will get what you need to know at the dialogue meeting or from the workshop material. But a kind of preparation can be to start thinking about Norrbotten's development and talking about it with others.
The best way is to go to evtångnorrbotten.se/rus. There you will find news and a clickable image that gives an overview of what we have done and what is happening further ahead.
Then the big work of taking advantage of the feedback we have received from dialogue meetings in municipalities, workshops in schools, free text responses on the website and other means will begin. We will use AI to analyze the large amount of material and narrow down the issues that are important to many, require collaboration and play a major role in the long term.
All opinions submitted to us are counted when we decide which issues many people think are important to focus on. We cannot say that every opinion expressed will end up in the strategy, but all contributions become part of the overall picture of what the people of Norrbotten want for the future of the county.
The new RUS should be adopted by the end of 2025.
The work on the new RUS is being carried out within the framework of a project, which has a budget of SEK 3. Half of that amount comes from the money Region Norrbotten receives from the government to work with regional development. The rest is taken from the funds for its own regional projects that Region Norrbotten has.
