Proceedings of 8th European Assembly on telework (Telework2001)

208Telework used as a method <strong>of</strong> moving work tasksto regional districts in NorwayEystein Fossum, Management Consultant, Semco AS, Lysaker, NorwayAbstractAlthough Norway does not have an <strong>of</strong>ficial common telework policy as such, telework projectshave <strong>of</strong>ten been set up as integrated parts <strong>of</strong> different governmental development programs, i.e. inconnection with labour market or district development programs. Some <strong>of</strong> these projects have beena part <strong>of</strong> or coordinated with the research project, Project Telework. This project is funded by theResearch Council <strong>of</strong> Norway and is the main telework study in Norway.This presentation describes some models <strong>of</strong> introducing telework to the more distant regions.Special attention is given to experiences <strong>of</strong> an effort made to move work tasks to the northernpart <strong>of</strong> the country. Questions that will be discussed include: Who are willing to decentralise worktasks to teleworkers in the more distant regions, how is telework organised and what are the localexpectations? Some experiences with motivating people to move to rural areas and telework arealso discussed.IntroductionHow telework could be used as an element in the local business development in the rural areas isone <strong>of</strong> the main topics <strong>of</strong> the Norwegian Project Telework. Project Telework is a research projectcollaboration by the consulting firms Ementor ASA and Semco AS and the telecommunicationcompany Telenor Research and Development. The Research Council <strong>of</strong> Norway finances theproject. The main goal is to develop telework as a good way <strong>of</strong> organising work in Norway andto study how telework could be used for the benefit <strong>of</strong> the society. The project has followed 17telework initiatives through a period <strong>of</strong> two to three years. Five <strong>of</strong> these are initiatives taken bylocal authorities in the rural parts <strong>of</strong> the country. The goal <strong>of</strong> these initiatives was to use telework,or the idea <strong>of</strong> telework, as one <strong>of</strong> the elements in the effort to build a base for local knowledgeindustry.There is no common telework policy in Norway, but several initiatives taken by the governmentinclude telework as an element. One such initiative is the “pilot municipality programme” setup by the Ministry <strong>of</strong> Local Government and Regional Development. In this programme, sevenmunicipalities set up their own, yet mutually co-ordinated projects to develop their region. Thelocal projects contain subprojects focusing on such subjects as the local culture, local industrialdevelopment, population development, local governmental services, etc. In some <strong>of</strong> these localprojects, telework is focused on as a possibility for local industrial development, and it is alsoseen as a possibility to reverse the decrease <strong>of</strong> population in the districts. The idea is that theopportunity to telework could create some opportunities for people to move into the districts. Thesame ministry also has an initiative called the “business gardens” in cooperation with the Industrial