The project is a follow-up evaluation that examines the social consequences of the expansion of The Quartz Corp in Hamarøy municipality (TQC) in the coming years.
Background
With its over 150 employees, TQC is a vital part of Hamarøy municipality. As a result of the increased focus on sustainability, the demand for quartz from TQC has grown, and the company is in the process of expanding its production. In line with this, TQC plans to expand its workforce substantially over the next two years. Today, TQC recruits its employees locally, nationally and internationally, and it will most likely continue to do so. Thus, the expansion of TQC can be expected to lead to an increase in the population of Hamarøy municipality and in the village of Drag.
Today TQC is an attractive employer with good pay and working conditions. At the same time, the development of the factory and increased migration to the municipality can be challenging in several ways, especially for the Lule Sami population and the position of the Lule Sami language in and around the village of Drag and elsewhere in the municipality. Increased migration may also affect access to public services, the labour market and the housing market, among other things.
What is the aim of the project?
The aim of the project is to answer two main questions:
How does the expansion of TQC affect the local community, and especially the Lule Sami inhabitants?
What are the experiences and views of local inhabitants and newcomers with regard to the measures that have been used so far to promote integration and/or reduce potential negative consequences? What other suggestions do they have for measures that facilitate integration?
The project takes local perspectives as its starting point and collaborates with local partners such as Árran Lule Sami Centre.
What does the project involve?
The project explores and assesses the societal consequences of the expansion of TQC for local communities in Drag and in Hamarøy municipality as a whole. The project started in May 2024 with a townhall meeting at Árran Lule Sami Centre at Drag and will be concluded at the end of 2026.
The project includes the following parts:
Interviews with members of the local community
Focus groups with inhabitants of Hamarøy municipality
Interviews and survey among TQC employees
What does the project involve for TQC employees?
All employees of TQC at Drag are invited to participate in an online survey in December 2024/January 2025 and in early 2026. The survey will take about 10-15 min to complete. The survey will be anonymous, and participation is voluntary.
To prepare and test the questionnaire, we will conduct interviews with about 5-6 TQC employees in autumn 2024. Participation in the interviews is voluntary. Participants will receive more information from the research team.
Who is doing the research?
The project is carried out by the Nordland Research Institute (Nordlandsforskning AS), in collaboration with Nord University and Árran Lule Sami Centre. The project is commissioned and financed by the Nordland country administration (Nordland fylkeskommune).
The project leader is Majken Paulsen (Nordland Research Institute). Other researchers who participate in the project are Birgit Pauksztat (Nordland Research Institute), Tove Mentsen Ness (Nord University) and Oddmund Andersen (Árran Lule Sami Centre).
How will the project results be shared?
The results of the project will be presented at the end of 2026 in a report and a presentation to the local inhabitants in Hamarøy municipality. In addition, the results may be published in publications in academic journals.
Brief information about personal data protection
Participation in the interviews and the survey is voluntary.
We will only use your data for the purposes stated in this information sheet. Personal data will be treated confidentially and in line with regulations for personal data protection. You can read more about personal data protection at www.sikt.no.
On behalf of the Nordland Research Institute, Data Protection Services at SIKT - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research have assessed that the processing of personal data in this project meets requirements in data protection legislation.
If you have questions, please contact:
Project leader Majken Paulsen, mobile: 41164743 or e-mail: map@nforsk.no
Our Data Protection Officer: Iselin Marstrander, mobile 40408365 or e-mail: ima@nforsk.no
If you have questions about how Data Protection Services have assessed the project, you can contact them by email: personverntjenester@sikt.no, or by phone: 73 98 40 40.
Questions?
Do you have questions about the project? Please contact the project leader Majken Paulsen (mobile: 41164743, or e-mail: map@nforsk.no). For questions about the interviews and the survey among TQC employees, please contact Birgit Pauksztat (mobile: 481 58 132, or e-mail: bpa@nforsk.no).