Funded Projects 2014-2020

Project Making it Work

Project Acronym	Making it Work
Project Title	Recruit and Retain 2: Making it Work
Project subsite	Makingitwork
Project Website	http://rrmakingitwork.eu/

Summary

Difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled employees is a common challenge for rural and remote areas. Making it Work will implement recruitment solutions at scale in five case study sites across five countries, applying a business model approach to a variety of public sectors (health, education, social work etc.), verify the models and make what works viable.

Objectives

The project objectives are to: Identify efficiencies and improvements in access to services in rural and remote areas, and identify ways to support and facilitate staff at all levels and the wider community, across all sectors to understand and use the new technologies required to deliver the new ways of working.

Impacts

Tangible

Improved access to services:	Making it Work studied what factors are related to workforce recruitment and stability in rural and remote areas. The team produced a 9-steps Framework for Remote Rural Workforce Stability to ensure a sustainable fit-for-purpose workforce. During the project period, 2 Norwegian municipalities, Meløy and Odda, have reduced the number of vacant regular GP positions, and Akureyri Hospital in Iceland has increased the number of their medical specialists.

Improved access to services:

Making it Work studied what factors are related to workforce recruitment and stability in rural and remote areas. The team produced a 9-steps Framework for Remote Rural Workforce Stability to ensure a sustainable fit-for-purpose workforce. During the project period, 2 Norwegian municipalities, Meløy and Odda, have reduced the number of vacant regular GP positions, and Akureyri Hospital in Iceland has increased the number of their medical specialists.

Intangible

Changing attitude and behaviour:	The project has seen a change in attitudes and behaviour from both a community and professional perspective. In Scotland, the project explored the role communities can play in the recruitment and retention process. Services like „Professional Buddies“ or welcome information packages, assist newly appointed medical staff and their families after they move to the community.
Influencing policies:	The Norwegian partner (the Norwegian Centre of Rural Medicine) contributed to establish the government funded ALIS-Vest and ALIS-Nord projects that aim to ensure recruitment and stability of GP positions in pilot Norwegian communities (linked text in Norwegian). In Sweden, thanks to the collaboration with Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Canada), Umeå University has in autumn 2018 started a new medical studying programme (called the Rural Stream) in which students can do clinical placements in remote health centers (linked texts in Swedish).

Changing attitude and behaviour:

The project has seen a change in attitudes and behaviour from both a community and professional perspective. In Scotland, the project explored the role communities can play in the recruitment and retention process. Services like „Professional Buddies“ or welcome information packages, assist newly appointed medical staff and their families after they move to the community.

Influencing policies:

The Norwegian partner (the Norwegian Centre of Rural Medicine) contributed to establish the government funded ALIS-Vest and ALIS-Nord projects that aim to ensure recruitment and stability of GP positions in pilot Norwegian communities (linked text in Norwegian). In Sweden, thanks to the collaboration with Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Canada), Umeå University has in autumn 2018 started a new medical studying programme (called the Rural Stream) in which students can do clinical placements in remote health centers (linked texts in Swedish).