A central theme in many of our projects is how we can facilitate sustainable community development at the local and regional level. This is an issue that cuts across many of the topics we work with, such as regional analyses, community planning, innovation, and co-creation. The concept of broad value creation has also been central in several projects, highlighting the interaction between different forms of value creation in the work with sustainable place development. Telemark Research has also been responsible for developing the concept of broad value creation and aims to promote sustainable place development through a positive, mutually reinforcing interaction between environmental, cultural, social, and economic value creation.
We have recently carried out accompanying research on the “Rural Environment Packages in Viken” on behalf of Viken County Municipality. The Rural Environment Packages were adopted by the county council in Viken in November 2019 with the aim of strengthening rural areas as attractive local communities with business growth and climate-friendly place development.