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Global challenges and local replies: Plant closures in industrial towns.Small industrial towns often rely on a single or a few companies. Examples are mining, forest/ paper industry and other raw material producing sectors. A characteristic of these sectors is exposure to unexpected global market changes, which result in local plant closures, or need for technological transformation and innovative adaptation through recycling of local skills. Plant closures may result in deep societal concerns. Throughout Norway, Sweden and Finland there are abundant experiences in handling these transformations. Some localities are highly successful in developing new strategies, often due to fortunate external global market conditions, some are less successful.
A core issue is how challenges are met, and by whom?How are successful partnerships established to solve or mitigate the problems? What is the role of local actors, such as municipalities and unions? What about regional and central level institutions? Activity 3 focuses on on-going plant closures and assess forms of organization and achievements in the light of historical experiences gained in other Nordic countries. It is coordinated by professor Kjell Andersson, Åbo Academy University, in cooperation with senior researcher Bjarne Lindelöv, Nordland University. The research plan for Åbo Akademi university |