Policy recommendations

• Further support at regional and local levels on how to prioritise delegated tasks according to legislation.

• Guidance in budget priorities can help to facilitate or even avoid local conflicts on which services to keep, or where to develop new ones. One example of when this can be helpful is spatial locations of rural schools.

• Delegating responsibilities from national to local policy levels works as a positive, in allowing local adaptation of service provisions. A key issue is ensuring necessary financing, and that delegation of tasks not be coupled with increased bureaucracy. This will allow those working with the issues at hand to implement the policies and find the best place-based solutions.

• To attract the right competencies to local level services, support remote working opportunities by allowing for such employments and invest in digital infrastructure.

• Acknowledge that local services are crucial for making regions attractive. Support local investments by establishing a service fund from which the municipalities, regions or actor-groups can apply for funding for ways of providing services.

• Provide better resource support for regions that have seasonal pressure on their infrastructure, for example during tourism high seasons.

• Assist and support regions and municipalities in adapting their essential services to climate change. This can be done in diverse ways, from knowledge sharing to financial support.

• Be willing to take over tasks that regions or municipalities cannot fulfil, or secure that local/regional level actors have sufficient resources to carry out the tasks.

• Combat financial restraints and labour shortages within rural services by recruiting people from abroad. Include language training, education development as part of employments, and use appealing salaries. Collaborations between municipalities and regions can help facilitate appealing salaries and attractive employment conditions.

• Utilise local and regional strategic planning tools and participatory dialogue to adapt service locations to a shrinking tax base. Such strategic planning includes internal and external communication, for example through increased public participation by having a conversation with the locals about what is happening, how they view the situation and what their priorities are.

• Encourage dialogue between the local levels, the state and the local businesses to better know what the different needs and labour skills are in each area.

• Use dialogue to seek a balance in optimal service locations and digital solutions. To soften local conflicts ask for support from the regional and national level during the process. 

• To attract young people and families to rural areas, invest in essential services, including sports and arts facilities.

• Enhance collaborations between regions and municipalities in providing better services by sharing resources.

• Cooperate on adapting services to a changing climate. Such collaborations can focus on developing a public planning and management body. One that considers how different services need to be adapted to a changing climate, with more severe weather events. For instance, make plans for housing areas and other crucial facilities such as health care centres, hospitals and schools – how they can be provided with electricity, water and sewage, as well to secure local roads and transportation hubs such as airports and harbours during extreme weather events.

• Be willing to delegate certain tasks from the regional level to the local, and vice versa, for optimal efficiency that best suits each region.