The Third Research Seminar at SERNOC Helsinki, Finland of April 2012 Private- and public sector partnership in community-based entrepreneurship Anne Pierre, PhD student

 The municipality of Berg in the region of Jämtland, Sweden  7500 inhabitants  5753km²  1,3 people/km²  Visitor and tourism focus THE CASE

 Community-based entrepreneurship entities have emerged as significant organizational players in market economies  Obstacles to this development: –Coordination problems between stakeholders –Collaboration difficulties between public- and private sectors –Poorly adapted frameworks –Lack of finance and capital –Lack of research on community- based entrepreneurship BACKGROUND

 Example of community- based entrepreneurship: –Ovikenbolaget AB, which is a company founded as a Leader Project through EU –Their goal is to create a stronger, more united and economically sustainable community in the municipality of Berg, Jämtland BACKGROUND cont.

 Find out what obstacles might be encountered by community- based companies in their attempt to collaborate with the municipality, if that is the intent, and how such obstacles are being handled and dealt with  Focus on the partnership between the private and public sectors in coming together to start and build operations or activities, in order to strengthen the community, in both creating social- and economic value PURPOSE

 How are responsibilities shared?  How can sustainable community development be created?  Is a partnership between the private and public sectors neccessary?  How can you find a trustworthy cooperation between the municipality and the entrepreneurs? POINTS OF INTEREST

 Field research – Qualitative method (interactive research)  Case study approach –Municipality of Berg in the region of Jämtland, Sweden is the actual case –Several units of analysis  Data collection will be conducted out in the field during April/May 2012 –Samples will be chosen among companies, which fit into the community-based company frame definition, and also selected people active with business development issues in the municipality –Observations (being reflexive), interviews (enter into other person’s perspective), and the analysis of secondary sources such as articles, books, blogs etc METHODOLOGY

 Is there a clear identification of the “case” or “cases” in the study?  Is the “case” used to understand a research issue or used because the “case” intrinsic merit?  Is there a clear description of the “case”?  Are themes identified for the “case”?  Are generalizations made from the “case” analysis?  Is the researcher reflexive or self- disclosing about his or her position in the study? VALIDATION ASPECTS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!