Exploring public perceptions and expectations of the salmon aquaculture industry in Norway: A social license to operate?

The aquaculture industry depends on the support of society to maintain and extend its activities. In Norway and elsewhere, such support cannot be taken for granted. The public has diverse expectations of the industry, and attitudes toward the industry are shaped by experiences with industry production, how the benefits and disadvantages of aquaculture production are distributed in society, and the kind and degree of information about industry issues that is available. This paper investigates public attitudes toward the Norwegian salmon aquaculture industry through a nationwide survey (N = 1183). The results reveal that the public is generally positive toward the industry; they tolerate and even accept it. However, respondents had more negative perceptions regarding the environmental consequences of aquaculture production and the fairness of the distribution of economic gains. Although the industry was seen as acceptable, respondents were more reluctant in terms of welcoming production growth, which points to a need for improvement if production increase is to be realized and the industry is to be able to meet society's expectations. Our results reveal differences in attitudes between respondents living in areas with and without aquaculture, which suggest that proximity to industry is, in general, positively related to industry perceptions. However, these differences vary in size, and it can be assumed that there are substantial contextual variances within the group of respondents living in aquaculture municipalities. One potentially important influence on attitudes is related to how industry is perceived to be financially significant in a particular local community. Further research could supply these data to offer a more detailed understanding of contextual variations and thus expand on the present results that explore public perceptions and expectations of the salmon aquaculture industry.Exploring public perceptions and expectations of the salmon aquaculture industry in Norway: A social license to operate?publishedVersio

Samhandlingsreformen og bruk av digitale verktøy på Fosen. En innledende kartlegging

-Informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi (IKT), som høykvalitets videokonferanser, sensorteknologi etc., kan være viktige hjelpemidler i gjennomføringen av Samhandlingsreformen (SHR). Gjennom kvalitative intervjuer av 53 personer ble det undersøkt hvilke strukturelle og kulturelle forhold som det er viktig å ta hensyn til i Fosenkommunene i gjennomføringen av SHR ved hjelp av digitale verktøy. Det eksisterende kommunesamarbeidet på Fosen er et meget godt utgangspunkt for realisering av SHR. Det gis også i dag et relativt avansert helsetilbud som inkluderer bruk av IKT, særlig gjennom Fosen Distriktsmedisinske Senter, men også ved sykehjemmene. Ansatte i helsetjenestene er generelt positive til utviklingsprosjekter og til å ta i bruk ny IKT. Det er imidlertid noe skepsis knyttet til bruk av IKT mellom behandler og pasient, og også generelt til hvorvidt brukerstøtten vil være tilstrekkelig. Det anbefales at innføring av nye IKT-løsninger tas i avgrensede steg. Ved hvert steg bør det sikres tilstrekkelig opplæring, mestring og brukerstøtte for å ivareta tilliten til løsningene. Sykehjemmene kan være ”noder” i utvidelsen av samarbeidet mellom Fosenkommunene ved hjelp av IKT. Det beskrives noen utfordringer som bør søkes løst, blant annet knyttet til opplæring av mange deltidsansatte, tilgjengelighet til videokonferanseutstyr, brukerstøtte og organisatoriske forhold i spesialisthelsetjenesten

Ledet til lederutvikling. Nasjonal rektorutdanning i grunn- og videregående skole; forskjeller og likheter mellom de seks programtilbudene. Delrapport 2 fra Evaluering av den nasjonale rektorutdanningen

Den foreliggende delrapporten er den andre av fire rapporter fra følgeevalueringen av den nasjonale rektorutdanningen – et initiativ iverksatt av Utdanningsdirektoratet for rektorer og skoleledere i grunn- og videregående opplæring

Ledet til lederutvikling. Nasjonal rektorutdanning i grunn- og videregående skole; forskjeller og likheter mellom de seks programtilbyderne

-Norway recently launched a national program for school leader development, organized through the Directorate for Education (see Lysø et al 2011). NIFU and NTNU Samfunnsforskning were asked to evaluate the program, and this is the second of four reports from the on-going evaluation. In the current report, the program offers from six higher education institutions in Norway are analyzed with the aim of exploring the following research questions in more detail: •What characterizes the program providers’ intentions regarding their study programs, and what ideas and practices are seen as central in the development of their program offers? •How do participants in the programs assess their studies with respect to quality and relevance, and what are the expectations of the participants regarding their participation? The main conclusion from the evaluation of these six programs is that they are very different. The programs have been designed with various intentions in mind, and their pedagogical design reflects this despite the fact that the programs offers also contain a number of similar elements. The participants experience the programs as both relevant and of high quality – regardless of which program they attended

Innovation policy in the Norwegian aquaculture industry: Reshaping aquaculture production innovation networks

While aquaculture production in a number of countries has been highly successful in terms of production growth, there is also a number of instances where the rapid growth has been curtailed due to sustainability challenges. In response, fostering sustainable aquaculture production has become a key policy and research agenda. The point of departure for this paper is the radical technological innovations based sustainable restructuring dynamics of the Norwegian salmon farming industry, which despite becoming one of the most profitable aquaculture industries in the world, has in recent years seen its growth curtailed due to sustainability challenges. To address these challenges and to enable the use of new areas currently inaccessible by the incumbent aquaculture technology, the Norwegian authorities launched in 2015 a new type of innovation policy instrument, known as development licences. Based on a mapping of the aquaculture production technology development projects as well as in-depth interviews, this paper elucidates how the targeted innovation policy instrument has instigated the sustainable restructuring process of the Norwegian aquaculture industry. Our findings indicate that in the short term, the innovation policy appears to have succeeded in the reconfiguration, and more precisely, the ’renewal’ process of the aquaculture production technology innovation networks (ecosystems) thanks to the entry of the new capable actors into the segment. However, we emphasise that the overall success of the innovation policy instrument will ultimately hinge upon sufficiently addressing certain aspects of the institutional failures in the sector.Innovation policy in the Norwegian aquaculture industry: Reshaping aquaculture production innovation networkspublishedVersio

Barrierer mot kollisjoner mellom fartøy og innretninger. Identifisering, vurderinger og mulige forbedringstiltak

-Denne rapporten omhandler Statoil Marine Operasjoner sin logistikk-kjede og er en evaluering av eksisterende barrierer mot kollisjon mellom forsyningsfartøy og innretning. Rapporten er et resultat av en studie gjennomført på oppdrag fra Statoil Marine Operasjoner. Hovedmålsettingen for studien var tredelt. Vi ønsket å kartlegge hvordan kollisjoner mellom fartøy og innretning kan oppstå, hvilke barrierer som eksisterer og hvor gode disse barrierene er. Totalt 47 personer fra logistikk-kjeden er blitt intervjuet. I tillegg er det blitt gjennomført en fareidentifikasjon (HAZID) med en håndplukket ekspertgruppe som representerte de sentrale leddene i logistikk-kjeden. Dette materialet dannet bakgrunnen for en oversikt og godhetsvurdering av 32 sentrale primær- og sekundærbarrierer som er identifisert, da knyttet til følgende aktiviteter: fartøyanskaffelser, baseaktiviteter, seiling, entring av sikkerhetssonen, lossing/lasting, og avgang fra innretning. Hovedinntrykket er at det er mange, godt fungerende barrierer som reduserer sannsynligheten for sammenstøt mellom fartøy og innretning. Likevel peker denne rapporten på noen områder der barrierene kan styrkes ytterligere. I prioritert rekkefølge vi vil spesielt fremheve fire slike områder: 1.Fartøymannskapet bør tilbys mer trening på manuell manøvrering av fartøy for å styrke håndteringen av eventuelt bortfall av Dynamisk posisjonering (DP), framdriftsproblemer og nødsituasjoner under losse- og lasteoperasjoner. 2.Vi viser til mangler ved DP-referansesystemer (Radius, Fanbeam) ved en rekke innretninger som svekker redundansen. Her er vår anbefaling at redundansen styrkes ved å sørge for at referansesystemer blir montert på samtlige installasjoner. 3.Det bør legges til rette for en større involvering av personell fra innretningene i utarbeidelsen av laste- og seilingsplaner. Dette vil redusere risikoen for sammenstøt mellom fartøy og innretning ved at liggetid ved innretninger reduseres. 4.En bedre logistikkplanlegging knyttet til rigger kan også redusere liggetiden

The operationalisation of sustainability: Sustainable aquaculture production as defined by certification schemes

Sustainability certification has become an increasingly important feature in aquaculture production, leading to a multitude of schemes with various criteria. However, the large number of schemes and the complexity of the standards creates confusion with respect to which sustainability objectives are targeted. As a result, what is meant by ‘sustainability’ is unclear. In this paper, we examine the operationalisation of the concept from the vantage point of the certifying authorities, who devise standards and grant or withhold certification of compliance. We map the criteria of eight widely-used certification schemes using the four domains of the Wheel of Sustainability, a reference model designed to encompass a comprehensive understanding of sustainability. We show that, overall, the sustainability certifications have an overwhelming focus on environmental and governance indicators, and only display scattered attempts at addressing cultural and economic issues. The strong focus on governance indicators is, to a large degree, due to their role in implementing and legitimising the environmental indicators. The strong bias implies that these certification schemes predominantly focus on the environmental domain and do not address sustainability as a whole, nor do they complement each other. Sustainability is by definition and by necessity a comprehensive concept, but if the cultural and economic issues are to be addressed in aquaculture, the scope of certification schemes must be expanded. The Wheel of Sustainability can serve as a valid lexicon and asset to guide such efforts.publishedVersio

The social science of offshore aquaculture: uncertainties, challenges and solution-oriented governance needs

Aquaculture technology is on the move, enabling production in more open and exposed ocean environments around the world. These new systems offer solutions to environmental challenges facing conventional aquaculture, yet new technologies also create new social challenges while potentially exacerbating, or at minimum recreating, others. Offshore aquaculture research and governance are still in early stages, as is our understanding of the social repercussions and challenges associated with development. This paper provides an evaluation and reflection on offshore aquaculture from a social science perspective and is based on findings from a modified World Café group discussion method including the thoughts and experiences of social science experts. Key challenges and uncertainties including a lack of an appropriate regulatory framework, societal perceptions of offshore aquaculture, and offshore aquaculture’s contribution to society were identified. The governance implications of these challenges are discussed as well as the need for social sciences to address these challenges through transformative and transdisciplinary approaches that bridge science and society

The social science of offshore aquaculture: uncertainties, challenges and solution-oriented governance needs

Aquaculture technology is on the move, enabling production in more open and exposed ocean environments around the world. These new systems offer solutions to environmental challenges facing conventional aquaculture, yet new technologies also create new social challenges while potentially exacerbating, or at minimum recreating, others. Offshore aquaculture research and governance are still in early stages, as is our understanding of the social repercussions and challenges associated with development. This paper provides an evaluation and reflection on offshore aquaculture from a social science perspective and is based on findings from a modified World Café group discussion method including the thoughts and experiences of social science experts. Key challenges and uncertainties including a lack of an appropriate regulatory framework, societal perceptions of offshore aquaculture, and offshore aquaculture’s contribution to society were identified. The governance implications of these challenges are discussed as well as the need for social sciences to address these challenges through transformative and transdisciplinary approaches that bridge science and society

The imperishable controversy over aquaculture

publishedVersio