Follow-up Research – Living Conditions, Upbringing and Education. Area Studies in Loddefjord and Olsvik

The theme of this project is the process and implementation of an area initiative in the Municipality of Bergen.

The starting point is the area initiative in Loddefjord and Olsvik 2019-2026, where a special focus is put on young people who drop out of school. Loddefjord and Olsvik are two areas that are significantly above both the national average and other neighbouring areas. The statistics are also interesting in that the proportion of people with mental health problems is high, while the activity level is low. Together with NORCE (which has the project management), NOVA will follow up the project. 

Research questions

There are three sets of questions related to the structure, processes and results:

Structure

1. Is the information about the activities clearly defined and responsibilities distributed?
2. Do the activities correspond to the problems of the target group?
   a) Are there elements of the actions that should be adjusted and changed? 
   b) Are there other elements that should be incorporated?
3. Have sufficient resources (financial and human) been allocated to implement the actions as planned?

Process

1. How does the innovation and development process work?
   a) Do teachers and practitioners believe in the project and to what extent do they loyally support the practical implementation?
2. How do the target groups experience the implementation and execution of the activities?

Results

What are the short and long term results of the actions?

1. Do the actions promote a sense of mastery and inclusion?
2. Do the actions contribute to lifting up the weakest performing pupils?
3. Does it increase attendance at school?

Methodology

In the project we will use several types of data and methods. Qualitative interviews will be used to gain insight into the experiences and perceptions of different actors with the area initiative. In addition, we will use quantitative data (Ungdata and web survey) to get a broader description of the situation.  

Relevance

The project is of high relevance for stakeholders in Bergen as well as other parts in Norway related to their work in improving the social environment