Cross‑border collaboration for the future of healthcare
How can Norwegian and Swedish municipalities and higher education institutions work together to address the nursing shortage in the Nordic green belt? This question was in focus when participants from a research project met in Östersund.
For two days, representatives from Mid Sweden University, Nord University, Östersund Municipality and Verdal Municipality met to exchange experiences and discuss joint solutions to one of healthcare's biggest competence challenges.
The purpose of the meeting was to bring together the municipalities to develop cooperation.
"We wanted to share experiences, get a better picture of each other's conditions and together discuss how we can go from competition to more cooperation between the municipalities," says Ylva Rönngren, senior lecturer in nursing at Mid Sweden University and researcher in the project.
Common challenges – and common opportunities
The conversations showed that the municipalities are facing many similar challenges, but also that there are valuable experiences to share with each other.
"I take away many good conversations and insights from the municipalities. The group work and discussions gave a lot to build on," says Ylva.
In addition to municipal collaboration, arenas for meetings between teachers, students and researchers from the two countries were also discussed, as well as issues relating to digital skills development and new forms of knowledge exchange.
The work continues
The project is now moving forward with compiling the results of group work and discussions. The lessons learned from the meeting will be taken forward both in the continued dialogue between the municipalities and in the other areas of the project.
"I feel like we really want the same thing – to find better ways to collaborate and take advantage of the knowledge that exists in our municipalities," says project manager Malin Holmström Rising, professor of nursing at Mid Sweden University.
From competition to collaboration – about the dilemma of the nursing shortage in the Nordic Green Belt is a collaboration between Mid Sweden University and Nord University. The project runs until the end of May 2028 and is funded by Interreg Sweden–Norway.