It has now been decided that Region Västra Götaland will become a co-founder of the collaboration arena Wexsus. At its most recent meeting, the Environment and Regional Development Committee decided to support the activities for three years.
When Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg and University West decided last summer to form a joint consortium in the form of a collaboration arena for sustainable development, Region Västra Götaland was given the opportunity to join as a co-founding partner. VGR's Environment and Regional Development Committee has now formally decided to support the business for a three-year period and become a co-founder of Wexsus – West Sweden nexus for sustainable development.
– It is important that municipalities and other authorities locally and regionally work closely with academia. It provides access to new knowledge and support with qualified assessments of complex problems. Wexsus will be an important resource in this work, says Anders Carlberg, strategist at Region Västra Götaland's Department of Research, Transition and Skills.
In order to achieve a sustainable transition, new knowledge and improved collaboration are required, where a collaboration arena such as Wexsus can facilitate knowledge formation between different actors and be an important part of lifelong learning.
– Through Wexsus, the supply of skills to the public sector is strengthened. Municipalities, regions and other authorities have the task of ensuring that the transition takes place in practice. This requires qualified knowledge and well-trained staff from the higher education institutions, says Anders Carlberg.
The role of academia in the sustainable transition is to secure that the transition is based on both existing knowledge and that new knowledge is produced in collaboration between different actors. Authorities such as Region Västra Götaland are key players in ensuring that such collaboration takes place with academia.
– When Region Västra Götaland now steps in and officially becomes a co-founding partner, a very important piece of the puzzle falls into place, says Tomas Berglund, director of Wexsus. We can now develop collaboration between all sectors of society with greater vigour and create a model for working with sustainability issues in western Sweden.
Region Västra Götaland's role as a co-founding partner of Wexsus means that they are part of Wexsus' steering group together with the three owner universities, with the task of developing the activities during the start-up year. In addition to the agreement with Region Västra Götaland, other agreements with associated partners of Wexsus are in the pipeline to further strengthen collaboration for a sustainable transition. In addition to the public actors, Wexsus also intends to create collaboration with both business and civil society in western Sweden. With all parties around the table, there are unique opportunities for making a successful sustainable transformation of society.
