Paper Province 2.0: A large-scale demonstrator of forest based bioeconomy, phase 2

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 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 in human geography (contact person), Marie Nordfeldt professor in social work, Ida Grundel, senior lecturer, human geography and Postdoc Hanna Martin.
Project Period: 2017-2019.