The hinterland needs #insight

Together with the new research center CREDS - Center for Digitization and Sustainability, Høgskolesenteret, 7sterke and Klosser join forces to create a new knowledge arena for social and business development in the Kongsvinger region, called #insight.

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The solutions are available locally!

It is those who wear the shoes who know best where it presses.

In close cooperation with the young people and those around them, "Young inclusion" will, through a new and positive approach, find out what works and where we find the good solutions.

The Young Inclusion project in the Kongsvinger region was established on the basis that a far too large proportion of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are out of work and school.

 - There was a need to do something. We know that youth projects around the country almost "abound". Despite national reforms and measures, the results have so far been limited. Both the municipalities and NAV express that they are unable to find new solutions. Through HiNN, we gained knowledge of a methodology that has been used elsewhere in the world, and which seems to work well. This method is called «Positive deviation», PD, which is translated to «positive deviations» in Norwegian. It is about finding out what makes some young people manage against all odds, what is it that makes them succeed despite, says project manager Marianne Grøndahl Pedersen.

The project Young Inclusion is a development and innovation project, and is a collaboration between the six municipalities in the Kongsvingger region, NAV, the State Administrator, Innlandet County Municipality and Høgskolen i Innlandet, HiNN. The project lasts until the end of 2023 with follow-up research from HiNN.

 

Dialogue with enthusiasts and resource persons

It is those who work and live in the municipality who know the challenges and can say something about what we succeed at. The project therefore conducted seven digital dialogue meetings with around 120 different professionals around the municipalities at the end of January. The participants came from volunteering, schools, kindergartens, business, health nurses, SLT coordinators, employees in culture, NAV supervisors, PPT, nurses, FAU, psychologists in addition to other important resource persons for children and young people. Many are passionate people who know a lot about young people who do not succeed in school and working life with a burning desire to find good solutions to make more people succeed. - One of the challenges that is pointed out is the lack of a common arena to work together in to take care of the young people who need it. We need cooperation across units and municipalities, so that we can play each other well, emphasizes Grøndahl Pedersen.

 

The voice of young people is important

It is the young people themselves who know what it is like to be young. They are the ones who have the experiences we want to learn from. Through interviews, dialogue meetings, workshops and close collaboration with the young people in the young people's arenas, their experiences will be given great weight in the work.

 

Good feedback

The project manager says that the feedback after the first meetings has been very positive. There are many who have a great commitment to the youth, and who see that they have an important role in their lives. The project will follow up the dialogue meetings in January with separate working meetings, workshops, in early April. - We arrange municipal and physical work meetings with enthusiasts and various professionals. Then we must together find out how we - overall - can contribute to more young people succeeding, which is the goal of this project, says Grøndahl Pedersen.

 

International methodology

The PD approach has so far not been widely used in Norway, but the method has been used in over 65 countries to solve a wide range of social and organizational challenges. The starting point in PD is that there are always some individuals or groups who find solutions and who succeed, despite equal access to resources. These "some" are the positive deviations. This means that you have to look for, and focus on, solutions rather than the problems, Grøndahl Pedersen explains.

To learn more about the PD approach, watch this video in 3 minutes: What is the Positive Deviance Approach?

Interesting to follow from research

- To be closely followed by the research is both interesting and useful. We receive method guidance, assistance with network analyzes and many other good advice and tips that we actively use in the project work, says Grøndahl Pedersen. The collaboration with HiNN contributes to us working more knowledge-based and we have access to researchers with different expertise who have worked with different professional approaches and methods, so this is incredibly exciting, concludes Grøndahl Pedersen.

The way forward

Many have already signed up for workshops in April, but we have room for more. Do you have thoughts and experiences about what works well in your work, in your professional environment and in your workplace? What do you find challenging? Do you have ideas on what can be done better? Do you want more collaboration within the municipality and in the region? Do you have a belief that together you can come up with better solutions that in the long run prevent young exclusion? Do you have a desire to make a difference in this work?  Da er debt et cooperation you will be a part of.

Read more about the project here.

Cheers for new industrial establishment!

First Seafood establishes Norway's most modern fish filleting facility at SIVA in Kongsvinger. With the plant in Kongsvinger, First Seafood takes home production that today takes place abroad. This means new jobs in the Kongsvinger region and increased Norwegian export revenues. The investment is therefore important for both the nation and the Kongsvinger region.

- The plant in Kongsvinger will receive salmon that arrive on trailers from Western Norway and Northern Norway. The location in Kongsvinger is perfect as it is both close to Gardermoen and close to the market in general, says Andreas Sundnes who is the general manager of First Seafood.

The fish that comes from the shore must be two to three days old before one can remove bones from the fillet after it has been slaughtered. It fits perfectly with the time it takes to transport it to Eastern Norway, says Sundnes.

The factory that will be established in Kongsvinger will initially have 35 jobs, but Sundnes hopes that it will be possible to increase to about 60 after a relatively short time.

- Theoretical capacity in the factory is 60 tonnes of raw material per day and that will be our goal in the long run. This corresponds to a turnover of almost 1 billion.

Sundnes also emphasizes that the establishment of a fillet factory near Oslo and Gardermoen will save on logistics costs, and give a lower CO² footprint than the production that is done today. In addition, production in Kongsvinger will increase durability for end customers and therefore reduce waste. Kongsvinger as a location opens up in the future for the use of railways for logistics.

Sundnes praises the actors in the Kongsvinger region for the assistance and support they have received in connection with the establishment process.

Andreas Sundnes who is the general manager of First Seafood

- The reception we have received in Kongsvinger has been crucial for the establishment in Kongsvinger! Klosser Innovation has helped us with various clarifications along the way and helped to ensure that the process went smoothly. I would say that having bricks is very important for the Kongsvinger region. Kongsvinger municipality has been welcoming all the way, and we feel warmly welcomed in the region.

The most important thing now in the future will be to recruit people with the right skills for the factory, says Sundnes.

- Automation means that the requirement for competence is much higher than before. We need skilled workers and good people at all levels. We are particularly interested in recruiting young people with a desire to work. For young people who have the ability and willingness to work and learn, we can offer an exciting career path, concludes Sundnes.

Blocks that have worked with the establishment of First Seafood cheer for the establishment.

- This is a very important establishment for both the region and Norway. When processing of Norwegian salmon is taken home from abroad, it means more new Norwegian jobs and increased national value creation. The establishment will also have major ripple effects locally! For several years, Klosser, together with various players in the region, has worked intensively to stimulate the establishment of new ones in industrial companies and it is fantastic for the Kongsvinger region when this succeeds. There are few places in Eastern Norway where so much exciting is happening in industrial development as in the Kongsvinger region - both in the existing industry and through new industrial establishments. It has been a pleasure to work with such good industrial entrepreneurs as First Seafood and Berggren, say Ola Boisen and Stian Gulli Hansen in Klosser.