Work packages

Description of the work packages

WP1: Project coordination and administration

WP1 is led by the consortium leader, Docent, and Senior Researcher Tanja Joona from the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. The work package guides the research and innovation operations of the REBOUND project through interactive and efficient project coordination. Members of the work package consist of the leaders of the other work packages. In REBOUND, a stakeholder board has been established, which consists of relevant and central actors regarding the project. The operations of the stakeholder board are led by the work package. The vice consortium leader, Professor Pasi Rautio from the Finnish Natural Resource Institute and project coordinator, Senior Researcher Mia Landauer from the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, are responsible for the day-to-day governance of the project. This includes project administration, risk assessment and quality control, legal and contractual administration, communication with researchers, financial management (including the budget), reporting, and other assistance of the institution of the consortium. Interaction specialist Miia Kärnä and research assistant Juulia Tikkanen are also part of this work package.

WP2: Local and regional thresholds and boundaries in Green Transition

WP2 is led by the vice consortium leader and Professor Pasi Rautio from the Finnish Natural Resource Institute. The work package aims to explore regional and local tipping points where resilience is needed from businesses and local communities to achieve a just outcome. The tipping points may be determined by the sufficiency of natural resources or the structures of local communities and businesses. As a result of previous Horizon H2020 projects (JUSTNORTH and ArcticHubs), some of the tipping points are already known, however, the green transition brings additional challenges and requires new and innovative ways of understanding other societal challenges. A holistic view of the reconciliation of different values and world views is needed and to achieve this, REBOUND can utilize existing justice-related value indicators (H2020 JUSTNORTH). To understand the resilience and suitability of existing economic activities for sustainable development, a deeper understanding of the viability of local communities in such an operating environment is needed.

WP3: Redefining economic resilience at the time of transition

WP3 is led by the project coordinator and Senior Researcher Mia Landauer from the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. In the work package, the planning and management of land use in Northern Finland are studied through justice and resilience in particular in local communities with the help of four empirical case studies from economic, socio-cultural and environmental perspectives. The research also examines supranational (EU) and national regulatory frameworks. Identifying problematic points in legislation, planning practices, investment measures and land use management procedures are part of the analysis. This work package develops tools and methods that can be used to examine the territoriality and boundaries of land use from the perspectives of justice and resilience. The knowledge is produced together with regional stakeholders, such as decision-makers, planners, economic operators and residents.

WP4: Maintaining resilient institutions through education, engagement, and participation

WP4 is led by Professor Pigga Keskitalo from the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland. The work package focuses on intergenerational justice by examining the thoughts of children, youth and the elderly related to the green transition. The purpose of this work package is to find out which factors affect the dialogue between generations and how justice is perceived among different age groups in relation to green transition. Aligned with the Finnish national child strategy and age program, the study emphasizes the importance of participation of all age groups. It also aligns with the goals of the Agenda2030 program, promoting justice as a core component of sustainable development and natural resource management. The research is conducted through interdisciplinary workshops in Northern Finland together with the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. Various methods such as nature image series, maps, and digital games are utilized to engage participants in these participatory workshops. The workshops include artistic documentation and exhibitions. The project concludes with developing a guidebook for schools and teachers, providing insights into involving children and youth in the green transition and fostering intergenerational justice.

WP5: Justice beyond boundaries - Righting the Green Transition for all

WP5 is led by Associate Professor Dorothée Cambou from the University of Helsinki. The work package aims to explore how legal, political, and business processes designed to facilitate the green transition disproportionately impact certain groups, highlighting injustices within the process. For this purpose, the work package conducts a socio-legal study with in-depth case studies about the impacts of projects in forestry, mining and wind energy sectors on the rights of marginalized, misrecognized or unrecognized groups. The work package aims to investigate regulations, policy strategies, and business practices behind these economic sectors. This way, the work package will develop a deeper understanding of the limitations of the current governance apparatus to foster a just transition. The methods of co-production with local stakeholders in workshops and semi-structured interviews will be employed across the case studies.

WP6: Participatory Design and Art Based Interventions

WP6 is led by Professor and Docent Jonna Häkkilä from the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland. The work package focuses on participatory aspects to engage stakeholders to co-create just and resilient futures in the Arctic and develops design concepts to promote awareness and engagement for a more just green transition. It utilizes participatory design methods, service design, and art-based methods to engage local communities and citizens, industry, law experts, and green transition domain experts. The work package collaborates with other work packages by involving them as stakeholders and domain experts in workshops, and by reporting to them the identified “pain points” and other emerging insights. The aim of this work package is also to develop means and methodologies to encourage dialogue between stakeholders and to create concepts for more just, resilient, and sustainable futures.

WP7: Developing policy, legal, and regulatory solutions

WP7 is led by Senior Researcher Minna Pappila from the Finnish Environmental Institute. This work package aims to critically evaluate the policies and regulations that currently define the boundary conditions of economic activities in the Arctic region. It also aims to develop political paths and regulatory solutions to secure just and sustainable development. The vision of this work package is to see Northern Finland as a model area for sustainable management of natural resources instead of just seeing it through exploitation. The work package utilizes results of case studies from other work packages to evaluate the current regulatory means in Finland and the EU to prepare recommendations. The work package points out that the starting point for economic activity should be accepted by the people affected by the activity.

WP8: Interaction and co-production

WP8 is led by the interaction specialist Miia Kärnä. The work package aims to collaborate with stakeholder groups and to produce approachable scientific communication in the context of just green transition. The goal is to ensure a holistic approach to the co-production of information and delivering the results of the project. This is achieved by developing a hybrid infrastructure through annual interactive events and combining science communication and digital marketing. The central concept is a transboundary organization “Hybrid Centre for Arctic Green Transition”. This work package aims to develop a unique hybrid infrastructure which will be built to ease the interaction and deliver information, as well as to provide a general channel for just green transition. Although the organization is being built particularly in the Arctic, it will serve the society and decision-making in the EU. The work package utilizes already existing information regarding sustainable economic growth in the Arctic and provides a possibility for different stakeholders to participate in the operations of the organization as experts. New research projects that support REBOUND provide the possibility for growing into an expert organization, which allows a holistic view of the central questions related to wind power, mining, nature-based tourism, defense, traditional livelihoods, agriculture and forestry. The work package includes also the basic communications within the project, meaning internal and external communication, social media, updating the website of the project, newsletters and organizing events.