Collaboration with industry will provide better health services in rural areas
In the industrial sector, self-directed teams are a well-established organization. Now the model will provide inspiration for better health services in the districts. Illustration photo: iStock
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Trond Bliksvaer
RESEARCHER IRaj Kumar Thapa
RESEARCHER II
A new research project draws inspiration from industry to increase quality, efficiency and job satisfaction in district municipal health services.
In January, the Research Council announced funding for research and innovation to strengthen the sustainability of municipal health and care services. It recently became clear that Nordland Research Institute His project – SELFDRIVE (Driving sustainable health and social care reform in rural regions through empowered self-managing teams) is one of eight projects to receive support, in competition with a total of 92 applications. SELFDRIVE received nearly 15 million kronor in support.
The project is about how health and care services in rural municipalities can organize themselves into small, self-managed teams to increase both the efficiency and quality of the services provided, but also the job satisfaction of the employees.
– Such an organization of the health sector is not unknown abroad, but here in Norway we know it best from industry. The project will collaborate with industry players to achieve an exchange of experience between the municipal sector and industry, says Trond Bliksvær, who is a senior researcher at Nordland Research Institute and project manager for SELFDRIVE.
– This does not mean that municipalities should learn assembly line production of health services, the goal is to find out what can be good and transferable experiences from industrial companies in the districts, which after all have long experience with self-managed teams, he says.
Must be adapted to local conditions
An autonomous team is therefore a composition of employees with different skills, who are themselves able to assess how the tasks can best be solved, without interference from managers. What is it about such an organization that can be attractive to the many Norwegian district municipalities?
– Experience from the Netherlands, where this organization is widely used, shows that employees are given much more freedom in their work, which makes them more satisfied, says Raj Kumar Thapa, senior researcher at Nordland Research Institute ..
– The organization also allows employees to perform their work tasks more efficiently, says Thapa.
He cautions, however, against simply adopting the Dutch model.
– We must develop our own model that is adapted to the local needs of Norwegian district municipalities, emphasizes the researcher.
Soft exchange of knowledge and experience
SELFDRIVE has grown from Nordland Research Institute its long and good collaboration with Vestvågøy municipality. Vestvågøy has been selected as a so-called engine municipality in the Municipalities' Cooperation Arena for Research (KSF), under the auspices of KS.
– Vestvågøy is a unique knowledge municipality that is far ahead when it comes to innovation and development. Here they already have experience with autonomous teams in the health sector, through a variant they call intervention teams, in addition to the use of teams in everyday rehabilitation, says Trond Bliksvær.
The knowledge that the researchers develop in collaboration with Vestvågøy Municipality is shared with other municipalities in an already established cluster system, which is part of KSF.
– Alstadhaug Municipality is also a partner in the project and has relevant expertise with regard to the industrial aspect. There will be a lot of exchange of experience between Vestvågøy and Alstadhaug along the way. In addition, we have three professors from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden involved to exchange experiences across countries, says Bliksvær.
Helps with preparedness
It is far from a coincidence that SELFDRIVE aroused enthusiasm in the Research Council. The project responds to concrete and precarious challenges in rural Norway, which, among other things, struggles with poor economics and a shortage of labor.
– In many rural municipalities, the elderly wave is already a reality and they have an urgent need to find solutions. Here, autonomous teams can help ensure efficient operations with high quality, without having to hire more people or spend more money, says Bliksvær.
– Such an organization also has a contingency aspect. Small units that can operate autonomously without being dependent on orders from above will be of great value, for example in a pandemic situation.
