Research

Recowama explores 3 major research questions:

  • RQ1: What are the main drivers and barriers for firms in climbing the value chain and creation of industry paths of waste management in Troms and Finnmark?
  • RQ2:How and to what extent could R&D and innovation knowledge and activities contribute to positive development and value creation of the waste management sector in Troms and Finnmark?
  • RQ3:How and in which ways could competence upgrade and cooperation be further developed in Tromsand Finnmark waste management sector?
WP1: Project management and administrationWP1 deals with ongoing project management. It produces managerial project reports and interacts with the RFF Arktis and with financial services at NORCE. WP1 willin be organizing the administrative-consortium parts of the kick-off meeting, the mid-term seminar,and the and final meeting attached to the final conference (in Tromsø). The WP1 will produce administrative reporting, including mid-term and final administrative project reports. Allocation of tasks: Lead:
WP2: Methodology and key conceptsThe WP2 will elaborate a common conceptual and methodological foundation for the project and provides guidance on how to analyze regional pre-conditions, R&D and innovation, and competence development & cooperation. The construction of the analytical framework is a major deliverable of the WP2 work. The WP2 team develops joint common elements of methodology for stakeholder workshops, too, and a template for case studies. Integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into the project is part of the WP2 work, too. The WP2 produce a Conceptual and Methodological Report as guidance for WPs 3-6.
WP3: International benchmarkingThe WP3 provides a benchmarking of relevant good practice strategies, programmes, methods, and cases, with strong focus on international benchmarking (EU and Nordic level). Regional & local waste management systems and business models (existing & plans for the future) will be identified and analysed. R&D and innovation projects and cases in which research institutes provide added value, will be of specific interest, as well as comparability & adaptability of international cases against the North Norway context. Cooperation & clustering good practice cases with high relevance to Troms and Finnmark, are of interest.
WP4: Regional preconditionsThe WP4 provides a study of regional pre-conditions for waste management activities and further development in Troms & Finnmark. The work package responds to the need of advanced knowledge on the relationship between the regional firms position within the value chain regarding e.g. sorting of waste, logistics, new technological solutions. The opportunities as well as challenges provided by green transition in the Arctic conditions from the waste management viewpoint will be tackled, too, as well as competence gaps. The WP analyzes also what kind of regional path development would be optimal for waste management.
WP5: R&D and innovation promotionThe WP5 analyses the possibilities of increasing the role of research institutes in the waste management of Troms and Finnmark. The WP5 introduces the smart specialisation concept to the waste management actors, needs analysis of waste management actors regarding R&D and innovation support by research institutes, supply analysis of research institutes (with a strong focus on Troms and Finnmarks institutes), joint workshops with waste management actors and representatives of research institutes to provide matchmaking. The Smart Specialisation methodology, including the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process, will be implemented and locally adapted to the Troms and Finnmarkwaste management context.
WP6: Competence upgrade and networkingWP6 studies the possibilities to competence upgrade within waste management sector, assisted by the research institutes. The methodology and conclusions of the skills and competence analysis in Värmland smart specialisation (Lundgren et al. 2020) will be adapted to Troms and Finnmark waste management context. Parallel to competence upgrade, the WP5 analyzes the ways to improve the clustering and networking related to Troms and Finnmark waste management actors. The current status of networking and clustering, as well as needs of the waste management actors will be matched against the supply of research and innovation actors on competence upgrade and clustering. In addition, the possibilities to widen the networks to relevant EU thematic networks, will be studied. We shall pay attention to influencing positively to gender balance in the waste managements sector in Troms and Finnmark, too.
WP7: SynthesisThe WP7 brings the common aspects of WPs 3-7 together. The WP will produce, based on an interactive exchange, a summary report of the project, with final recommendations.
WP8: Communication and outreachThe scientific outcomes will be disseminated via high-level journals e.g.Sustainability, Regional Studies. The non-scientific communication has local, national, and internationaldecision makers and other relevant stakeholders as important target groups, including waste managementactors in Troms and Finnmark, research institutes, local communities, regional authorities, relevant nationalministries,and relevant Nordic and EU stakeholders. Three major workshops common to all work packageswill be organized: Kickoff workshop, mid-term seminar, and final conference. The kickoff workshop will bearranged as an internal workshop, and the mid-term seminar in two parts: the first part open for wastemanagement actors and stakeholders in Troms and Finnmark, and the second part for the ReCoWaMaproject staff & selected experts. The final conference will be an open conference targeted to a broaderregional, national, and international audience. Final report, and two policy briefs, will be prepared anddisseminated. The project opens LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. A project website will be developed, too,
by the lead partner NORCE and linked to the participating institutions’ websites.