Stronger Innovative Solution Structures in Thriving Northern Cities

The project runs from 2025 to 2027 and is funded by the EU’s Regional Development Fund programme. RISE is the project owner and leads the work together with municipalities and universities in Luleå, Umeå, Sundsvall, Örnsköldsvik, and Östersund.

Northern Sweden faces major opportunities—but also major challenges. Rapid climate transition, extensive industrial expansion, demographic shifts, and rising demands for social sustainability place high expectations on municipal capacity.

Today, much development work takes place in project form, which means that methods, networks, and lessons learned risk disappearing when projects end. In addition, collaboration between municipalities and universities needs to be strengthened, and residents and civil society need better tools to influence future urban development.

The project therefore creates structures that are:

• Long-term – integrated into regular operations
• Research-based – built on up‑to‑date knowledge
• Innovative – using digital tools and AI
• Inclusive – enabling broad participation from residents and local communities

The project is carried out in close collaboration between five municipalities, three universities, and RISE. The work consists of three main components:

Shared learning, governance, and dissemination

This work package develops tools, working methods, and digital solutions to strengthen resident influence and democratic processes. The municipalities share experiences and create common methods that can be used by other cities as well.

Support for innovation structures

The project establishes a new process for knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners. Through so‑called research briefs, academic research is more clearly linked to municipal strategies, strengthening innovation capacity throughout northern Sweden.
Additionally, new opportunities for using AI and digital tools in the transition work are identified.

Pilot projects in five cities

Each participating city runs a development initiative tailored to its local needs:

• Umeå: A physical meeting place and transition arena for climate roadmap stakeholders and civil society.
• Örnsköldsvik: A placemaking pilot where residents co‑create future public spaces in the new district “Stadsdel 2030.”
• Östersund: Co‑creation of a new city vision, Östersund 2040, with broad involvement from residents, researchers, civil society, and businesses.
• Sundsvall: New arenas for visioning and knowledge exchange, along with AI‑driven citizen dialogue linked to the revision of the city’s vision.
• Luleå: Contributes with insights on systematic citizen dialogue and experiences from Luleå Framtidsforum.

The project directly contributes to the implementation of the territorial strategy Thriving Northern Cities – Nordic Cities Lead the Climate Transition.