When Municipalities set the Research Agenda: Models for Municipal Provision of Competence and Knowledge for Sustainable Building and Planning

Swedish municipalities play a key role in sustainable building and planning. Research has proven to be difficult to transfer from universities to practice. From 2014, four universities located in Scania have a joint effort to offer their research competences to municipalities. The ambition is to support the municipal strategic challenges in relation to sustainable building and planning activities. The project has its basis in the Skåne Association of Local Authorities recently initiated certification program Research Municipalities. The project will develop new forms of competence and knowledge dissemination and cooperation from research to and with the municipalities. The concept Municipal PhDs will be tested as a means for cross municipal cooperation together with other models for cooperation. The project operates at two levels: L1 has 4 individual municipal PhDs each focusing on current municipal challenges. At L2 university researchers will develop, analyze and test various models for cooperation between municipalities and research. The municipal PhDs will act as individual cases, as well as channels for cross-municipal studies. Also, municipalities without PhD students will be included at L2, by the use of seminars, exchange of personnel, research trainees, action researchers etc. The research is based on theories related to organizational learning, and competence development. Expected results are municipalities better equipped for sustainable building and planning.