About us
RURALIS Institute for Rural and Regional Research is an independent research institute with over 40 years of experience in rural research in the Nordic countries and beyond. It has established a reputation as one of the leading academic research centers for rural sociology in Europe.
The institute employs approximately 35 researchers and support staff based in two locations – Trondheim and Oslo. Ruralis’ researchers conduct national and international interdisciplinary research projects in three main research areas: (1) climate and resource management, (2) local communities, (3) business development and bioeconomy. The Institute actively collaborates with various stakeholders in business, policy and society to make its research more socially relevant and applicable.
Purpose
Ruralis' mission is to conduct high-quality, innovative research to promote sustainable and just development in rural and regional areas in Norway and globally. The Institute has national responsibility for developing and maintaining theoretical and methodological research competence in the field of rural sociology and to conduct applied research and development projects for the public and private sectors. Ruralis aims to be an international hub for rural sociology and enhance collaboration across different disciplines, actors, and countries.
The staff
Ruralis employs approximately 30 researchers (including part-time and associate researchers) with backgrounds in sociology, geography, history, business economics, social anthropology, political science, and agronomy. In addition, the work of the institute is supported by 5 administrative personnel. To foster its internationalization and cross-border collaboration, Ruralis has been recruiting international researchers with experience outside Norway over the past few years.
Co-operation and Internationalisation
Much of Ruralis' research is conducted in collaboration with rural communities and different stakeholders in the public, private and business sectors in Norway and beyond.
Ruralis has established collaborations with various national and international research centers and universities. We work closely with various faculties at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Ruralis' main office in Trondheim is located on the Dragvoll campus, where also the Faculties of Social Sciences and Humanities at NTNU is located. Our researchers have project-based collaborations with colleagues from the James Hutton Institute (Scotland), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden), Wageningen University (Netherlands) to name a few.
Ruralis regularly hosts visiting researchers and our staff travel abroad for short and long-term stays at partner institutions. Participation at conferences and international publications are given high priority.
Financial sources
The Research Council of Norway is our main financial source, but we also apply to other national and regional funding sources, often in cooperation with stakeholders. We also work to obtain financing for comparative research via Nordic sources, various international programs and in particular the European Union’s research programs. Ruralis is regularly taking part in Horizon Europe-funded projects.