The government has decided to move 15 full-time employees in Norad (Directorate for Development Cooperation) to Førde, which was voted “Norway’s ugliest city” in a poll in Dagens Næringsliv in 2007. A stamp they have since had trouble shaking off. Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim says that the move is motivated by district political considerations, but not only that. Firstly, it is an independent point to separate the evaluation function of Norad into a separate and independent unit. In addition, the minister points out that a “strong and good” professional environment for aid work has already been established in Førde after Norec (formerly the Peace Corps) carried out a similar trip over the mountain in 2018. That time, 8 out of 42 employees were included in the “moving load”. The plan is for Norad to share premises with Norec. – The two will fit each other like a glove. The evaluation shows that Norec delivers well on its social mission from the new location in Førde, says Tvinnereim. “Many rural towns in Sogn og Fjordane are so tasteless that you can wonder if somewhere there is an office, in a long dark corridor, behind grey, massive brick walls, where they work day and night to put the tastelessness into the system”, wrote journalist Jan Nyberg, when Bergens Tidende made a report on towns in Sogn og Fjordane in 1988. The worst was beyond Førde: “More than a village, Førde today is a social democratic fiction, created by the idea that things are the goals of all people, more than that the goal of all things is man,” wrote Nyberg. Photo: Alf Vidar Snæland – The alternative that gives the greatest district political gain In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own analysis from 2017, the conclusion was that Førde is “the most expensive, furthest from the users and has the worst access to expertise”, but that the city was, in return, “the alternative that gives absolutely the greatest district political gain”. In line with the vision of municipal minister Jan Tore Sanner (H) to move 630 jobs out of the capital, Førde was therefore chosen as the new location. In front of Stavanger and Trondheim. To strong opposition among employees who reacted with “shock and disbelief” that the competence environment in Oslo was “torn down”. Five years later, Menon Economics concluded in a report that: Norec is delivering better on its social mission after the establishment in Førde. The users are satisfied. The dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is better. Recruiting competent labor is not a problem. – The experience at Norec is that those who come here experience a workplace with a good environment, a high professional level and opportunities for development, says Norec director Jan Olav Baarøy to news. – What is your greeting to the employees in Oslo who are now being “roasted out of their habitat”? – We must respect the fact that it can be sad to experience that the workplace is being moved. But we will welcome them in the best possible way, and do our best to ensure that they are comfortable. – There is a strong and good professional environment for aid work in Førde, so the evaluation of Norwegian aid fits like a glove in Førde, says Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp). Photo: Reuters – We will bet on the whole of Norway Municipal and District Minister Erling Sande characterizes the relocation of Norec as “a success story and a clear example that it is entirely possible to deliver top quality outside the Oslo area”. – We will invest in the whole of Norway. That is why the government has introduced free ferries, halved nursery prices and invested heavily in broadband development in the districts. The relocation of these government workplaces is further concrete proof that it matters who is in charge, he says. Questions about the localization and relocation of government workplaces have historically been a combustible topic. Most recently, the new agency that will strengthen export controls after Russia invaded Ukraine was added to Fornebu just outside Oslo – instead of Bergen, Trondheim or Stavanger. The main rule is that new government workplaces must be established outside the capital area, and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide will not answer what kind of assessments and criteria were used when Fornebu drew the longest straw. In an explanation to the Storting, the minister wrote that the government “needs to shield the considerations and the internal decision-making basis”. Norec (formerly the Peace Corps) carried out a similar trip over the mountain in 2018. Must investigate the possibilities for remote work The idea of spreading the professional environment and taking government jobs out of the “Oslo region” has broad political support, but there are different views on whether decentralization should also including the “number two cities” such as Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger. In addition, all government agencies are required to investigate the possibilities for remote work. Behind the investment in remote working are two factors: A pandemic that overturned familiar notions of “job”, “home” and “workplace”, and which gave Norwegians a crash course in “teams” and digital meeting culture. The report to the “Demography Committee”, which warns about the demographic challenges in district Norway. – The relocation of these government workplaces is yet another concrete proof that it matters who is in charge, says Erling Sande (Sp). Photo: NTB
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The government forcibly relocates 15 full-time workers to “Norway’s ugliest city” – news Vestland
