Finalised projects

  • PLACE-BASED DIGITAL EXPERIENCES
    In the past decades, we have witnessed great changes in the tourism industry as an effect of the general digitalisation process. Tourism actors are now online, which changes the conditions for how the industry communicates with visitors, how marketing, itineraries and bookings take place, and not least how visitors experience the destination. The aim of the project is to support new ideas and contribute to a development and innovation process leading to product development and methodological progress on how to establish place-based digital experiences.

    Read more about the project here.
     
  • BIOCULTURAL HERITAGE AND ALTERNATIVE FOOD PRODUCTION (BIOKUMA)
    How does small-scale food production relate to the preservation of our biocultural heritage? Is the biocultural heritage an obstacle or an opportunity? What affects the conditions to run small-scale, local food production? These are some of the questions that researchers at Karlstad University, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research and Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences study in the Biokuma project.

    Read more about the project here.
     
  • DIGITERRI
    DigiTeRRI aims at empowering three European traditional-industry regions (Styria in Austria, Région Grand-Est in France, and Värmland in Sweden) to maximize the opportunities of digitalization. The project contributes to the co-creation of the framework and roadmap for allowing a responsible transition to self-sustaining, digitalized industrial R&I ecosystems.Through a series of workshops in each territory, DigiTeRRI facilitates the collaboration and dialogue between business, academia, government and society ‒the quadruple helix ‒ to guarantee openness, democratic accountability and responsiveness.

    Read more about the project here.
     
  • INNOVATION FOR GREEN TRANSITION IN THE FOREST (INGOSKOG)
    How should research and innovation for a green transition based on the forest as a common resource be promoted? This is the starting-point for the three-year Interreg project ”Innovation for green transition in the forest”, a cooperation project between Karlstad University, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and a number of other partners.

    Read more about the project here.
     

  • FORESTS AS RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    The project explores what it means for a region to transit towards a bio-economy, and the processes through which regional actors build and implement such transition. The project is carried out with the case study of three European regions where strategies of smart specialisation and regional innovation systems are set in place to promote a forest-based bioeconomy.

    Read more about the project here.
     

  • PAPER PROVINCE 2.0 - A LARGE-SCALE DEMONSTRATOR OF FOREST BASED BIOECONOMY
    Karlstad University is participating in the first phase of the ten-year Vinnväxt initiative ”Paper Province 2.0: A large-scale demonstrator of forest based bio economy” led by the cluster organisation the Paper Province. The aim of the initiative is to create sustainable growth by developing internationally competitive and attractive research and innovation environments in the region. In conjunction with regional clusters and other private and public research resources Paper Province will build a large-scale demonstrator showing how bio economy works in practice.

    Bio economy is a growing research field on how fossil fuels can be phased out and replaced with green resources. In bio economy researchers look at how existing bio resources can be made to last, how to use them efficiently and in completely new ways. Researchers from the Faculty of Health, Science and Technology and from the FacuIty of Arts and Social Sciences participate in this project, which is co-funded by Vinnova, Paper Province membership companies, Karlstad University, Region Värmland, County Administrative Board, County Council of Värmland, the municipalities of Karlstad, Hammarö, Grums, Forshaga, Sunne, Torsby, Arvika and Säffle, and the Swedish Forestry Agency.

    The research members of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where CRS is based, focus on development and change. What changes and processes are required for a transition to a forest based bio economically sustainable development? The project members continuously address issues on different forms of methods for interdisciplinary research, between disciplines as well as on methods involving non-academia actors.

    Read more about CRS’s research in Paper Province 2.0 phase 1 (2014-2016) here.

    In phase 2, a special focus in the transition to sustainable forest bio economy will be on companies in the area of regional innovation systems. Basic issues addressed are the obstacles to companies’ engagement in transitioning to sustainable forest bioeconomy. What is the companies’ attitude to cooperating with various actors in a regional innovation system based on quadruple helix? The research will involve the Vinnväxt initiative’s home region Värmland and also include international outlooks and comparisons with other similar initiatives. The exact design of the project will be developed together with postdoc Hanna Martin in 2017. Research is to be pursued in close cooperation with the project "Transition to sustainable forest bioeconomy

    Participating researcher: Margareta Dahlström, professor of human geography (contact person), Postdoc Hanna Martin.

    Project Period: 2017-2019.

 

  • THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE OF THE SUBALTERN
    This project explores the living conditions and heritage of subalterns c 1700-1900  from an environmental justice perspective. The project will contribute new knowledge of history, the people and their material culture  for the benefit of history writing and heritage management. The project aims to contribute ‘best practice’ examples to cultural resource management and to highlight remnants of previously marginalised and neglected groups.

    The project is a cooperation between the Archaeologists of the National Historical Museums (project owners), Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University, and Centre for Regional Studies, CRS, Karlstad University.

    Participating researcher: Eva Svensson, eva.svensson@kau.se

    Funded by: Swedish National Heritage Board
    Project period: 2017-2019

 

  • ADVANCING THE BIOECONOMY TRANSITION IN THE NORDIC REGION (BIO WISE TRANS)
    A Nordic network project with the aim to maintain and develop a unique transdisciplinary (interdisciplinary and inclusive of stakeholders) network to study and propel the transition towards a new primarily land and biomass-based bioeconomy. The project is co-funded by The Nordic Joint Committee for Agriculture and Food Research (NKJ) and Nordic Forest Research (SNS) and collaborating partners.

    Read more about the project here.

    See a short film from the workshop in Hamar, June 2018

    Lead partner: Nordregio.
    The CRS part is co-financed by the Paper Province 2.0 and Transition to sustainable forest based bioeconomy projects.

    Participants at CRS: Margareta Dahlström, Ida Grundel and Hanna Martin.

    Project period: 2017-09-01-2019-06-30

 

  • TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABLE FOREST BASED BIOECONOMY
    The project ”Transition to sustainable forest based bioeconomy” is part of the area of forest-based bioeconomy under the initiative Academy of Smart Specialisation at  Karlstad University. The whole project has a budget of SEK 2,8 million, funded equally by Region Värmland and Karlstad University. The aim is to develop new knowledge of processes of sustainability transitions, in this case transition to sustainable forest based bioeconomy and to strengthen research and innovation in the field of bioeconomy at Karlstad University. It is important to make use of forests in an ecologically sustainable way to avoid damage to our ecosystems and to preserve an attractive living environment in the region. Transition to sustainable forest based bioeconomy is a necessary step in this process.

    A transition to sustainable forest based bioeconomy does not only involve a change of production systems but also a change of consumer behaviours, norms and values. The challenge of achieving sustainability is the need to transform the whole society, which requires structural changes beyond production chains. We need more knowledge of sustainability transition processes, for example, about the role of civil society in developing social innovations, ecosystem services or active participation in  regional innovation systems. The study will include a comparative study of other regions in Europe and their bio and circular economy efforts. The project may also contribute to creating a broad cooperation in the regional innovation system in Värmland, engaging various social actors.

    Participating researchers: Ida Grundel, associate senior lecturer in human geography ida.grundel@kau.se and Margareta Dahlström, professor of human geography, margareta.dahlstrom@kau.s

    Funding: Karlstad University and Region Värmland through The Academy for Smart Specialisation

    Project period: September 2016 – August 2018.

 

  • SMART INDUSTRY IN THE REGIONS
    The project contains collaborative research around the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation’s new strategy: “Smart industry”. The aim of the project is to create new knowledge in particular in relation to actors in charge of regional development and the scientific world.

    Project leader: Margareta Dahlström
    Participant, CRS: Svante Karlsson.
    Funding: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth
    Project period: 2017-2018.

 

  • BORDER-CROSSING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: FORESTS AS NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE RESOURCES
    The project is a pilot study linked to the EU regional development programme Interreg Sweden-Norway. The overarching purpose is to safeguard the ecosystem services in the border-crossing forest areas in inner Scandinavia to enable the development of its future attraction, sustainable development and existence with a focus on the forest as a resource, its many values and actors cooperating in multiple-use forest management, involving forest industry companies, the tourism industry, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organisations such as orienteering and scout clubs, as well as general outdoor activities, hunting, and mushroom and berry picking. A basic dilemma is the conflict of interests between the different users of the forest and between preservation and usage interests. Both preserving and using are complex processes comprising different situations, stakeholders and goals. It is important to develop good methods to optimise multiple use and create growth and attraction on both sides of the border. Previous projects in the border-crossing area of Finnskogen have used the method of landscape resource analysis. This method will be tested and developed further, for example, in relation to tourism and transition to forestry based  bioeconomy. A second tool is the so-called hot-spots. Hot-spots can be developed to communicate different values of the forest to various actors such as forest industry companies, the tourism industry, entrepreneurs, non-profit organisations and the general public. The pilot study aims to identify and map the potentials of a major Interreg project.

    Project leader: Margareta Dahlström, professor of human geography, margareta.dahlstrom@kau.se

    Participating researchers: Eva Svensson, Camilla Berglund and Ida Grundel (CRS members), Harry Andreassen and Ole Bakmann (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences) and Kristian Bjørnstad (Trysilvassdragets Skogeierlag [association of forest owners])

    Funded by: Interreg Sverige-Norge
    Project period 2016-08-01 - 2017-01-31

 

  • PAPER PROVINCE 2.0: A LARGE-SCALE DEMONSTRATOR OF FOREST BASED BIOECONOMY, PHASE 1
    Karlstad University is participating in the first phase of the ten-year Vinnväxt initiative ”Paper Province 2.0: A large-scale demonstrator of forest based bioeconomy” led by the cluster organisation the Paper Province. The aim of the initiative is to create sustainable growth by developing internationally competitive and attractive research and innovation environments in the region. In conjunction with regional clusters and other private and public research resources Paper Province will build a large-scale demonstrator showing how bioeconomy works in practice. Bioeconomy is a growing research field on how fossil fuels can be phased out and replaced with green resources. In bioeconomy researchers look at how existing bio resources can be made to last, how to use them efficiently and in completely new ways. Researchers from the Faculty of Health, Science and Technology and from the FacuIty of Arts and Social Sciences participate in this project, which is co-funded by Vinnova, Paper Province membership companies, Karlstad University, Region Värmland, County Administrative Board, County Council of Värmland, the municipalities of Karlstad, Hammarö, Grums, Forshaga, Sunne, Torsby, Arvika and Säffle, and the Swedish Forestry Agency.

    The research members of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where CRS is based, focus on development and change. What changes and processes are required for a transition to a sustainable development based in a forestry-based bio economy? The project members continuously address issues on different forms of methods for crossdisciplinary research, between disciplines as well as on methods involving non-academia actors.

    In 2015 a policy-oriented conceptual sub study investigation was carried out. The survey of concepts had a focus on how a ‘large-scale demonstrator’ is used in research and policy (in the EU and different regions) and clarifies the political circumstances assumed to exist when regions are turned into laboratories for the policy expertise. The sub study also analysed how the EU recommends regional decision makers to think about aspects such as innovation and the role policies play at the regional level. Does the EU provide any guidance for those who work with ambitious regional social transformation initiatives regarding how policy logics such as ‘smart specialisation’, ‘broader inclusion’ and ‘sustainability’ are supposed to interact? What are seen as important mechanisms and incentives to achieve such policies? In 2016 the project focussed on how civil society can be included in a transition to sustainable forestry-based bioeconomy and prepare for a European comparison. The project enhances knowledge on circular and bio economies and on civil society’s relation to EU’s innovation policy. The conceptual analysis provides, among other things, a survey of Living Labs in relation to policies on cluster initiatives.

    Participating researchers: Margareta Dahlström, professor of human geography (contact person), Line Säll, PhD, political science, Inga Aflaki, PhD, political science and Mikael Granberg, professor of political science, Ida Grundel, PhD, human geography and Camilla Berglund, PhD, human geography.

    Project period January 2014 – December 2016.

 

  • Promoting democratisation through regionalisation in a time of change: the case of women’s resource centres
    The aim of the project is to analyse and problematise the opportunities for promoting women’s participation in different local contexts and institutional organisations in a time when politics is imbued with a management-centred approach, project politics and evaluation. The empirical focus is mainly on the contemporary organising of women’s participation in regional development processes in four Swedish regions.

    Participating researchers: Line Säll postdoctoral fellow, political science, project leader line.sall@kau.se, Tomas Mitander, PhD political science, tomas.mitander@kau.se, Malin Rönnblom, PhD political science, malin.ronnblom@kau.se, Andreas Öjehag, PhD political science andreas.ojehag@kau.se

    Funded by: The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society
    Project period: Jan – Dec 2016

 

  • Transition to bioeconomy, smart specialisation and quadruple helix
    The project “Transition to bioeconomy, smart specialisation and quadruple helix” stretched from January until the end of September 2015.  It was co-financed by the University of Karlstad and CRS - Centre for Regional Studies, Region Värmland and Vinnova by the Vinnväxt initiative Paper Province 2.0.

    The project aimed to widen the understandings and meanings of civil society in regional innovation systems and more specifically its role in the transition to a forestry based bio economy. Civil society can in this context be defined as users, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, customers and so on. Thus, the inclusion of civil society, a fourth helix, in regional innovation systems can be seen as a widening of previous models such as triple helix, building on close cooperation between research institutions, firms and industries and authorities into a quadruple helix system.

    Participating researchers: Ida Grundel (PhD, human geography) and Margareta Dahlström (professor, human geography).

    Project period: January - September 2015.

 

  • MIT-PHD  Report 2019:3 The Centre for Climate and Safety
    MIT-PHD is an article project on being a doctoral student in interdisciplinary research environments. The MIT acronym stands for multi-, inter, and trans-disciplinary research. The relation between the organising of interdisciplinary doctoral studies and knowledge production from a student perspective is explored. The result can reveal structures and content that affect knowledge production, thus contributing to reinforcing and making the aims, means and strategies of interdisciplinary doctoral studies and research more efficient.

    Four different interdisciplinary research environments are included in the study and eight researchers are involved in the project. The project is financed by the Centre for Regional Studies.

    Participating researchers: Camilla Berglund (PhD, human geography, contact person), Magnus Johansson (PhD, geography), Margareta Dahlström (professor, human geography), Lars Nyberg (associate professor, environmental studies), Mikael Granberg (associate professor, political science), Cecilia Nahnfeldt (associate professor, gender studies, director of research at the Swedish Church) and Mariele Evers (professor, geography, University of Bonn), Jon Moen (professor, ecology, Umeå University).

    Project period: February - June 2015.

 

  • Digital transformation and tourism
    This pilot study investigates digital development and consumer-oriented content in the tourism industry. The aim is to develop methods and ideas on how a destination can enrich and enhance the tourist experience through digital means, and in addition, to investigate what it would take for the Värmland tourism industry to reach such a goal. The study has an inherent critical approach. The object to be digitised must be locally anchored and encompassing more than the traditional perspectives. A further aspect to consider is that there is a great deal of information about men and men’s existence, but not as much about the daily lives of women and children in history. The researchers will also take a closer look at how the history of the importance of a place can be narrated in relation to present reality. Why is a place important today? The overarching purpose of the study is to provide a base for a major, multi-year project for developing the results. 

    Project leader: Lotta Braunerhielm, senior lecturer in human geography, lotta.braunerhielm@kau.se

    Funding: Karlstad University and Region Värmland through The Academy for Smart Specialisation

    Project period: 2016-2017.