Community power

Community power strengthens sustainable business in the High Coast's rural areas by giving local ideas the opportunity to grow. Here, associations, businesses, and social entrepreneurs can receive support to test and develop solutions that create both community benefit and long-term local development.

About the project

Community power High Coast – for ideas with local benefit and future confidence.

Community power High Coast supports groups, networks, and initiators in our rural areas who through collaboration want to create community-beneficial activities with local anchoring.

Many good ideas get stuck in systems that are not built for rural areas. Through Community power, we want to change that – and give more the chance to test, explore, and develop ideas that can strengthen both the community and future confidence.

It can be about social entrepreneurship, services, meeting places, environmental solutions, or new forms of collaboration. Here, associations, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, social entrepreneurs, and public actors meet to develop sustainable solutions together.

When community benefit becomes entrepreneurship – and entrepreneurship becomes community benefit

Community power releases the initiative, creativity, and willingness to collaborate that exists in the rural areas – and transforms it into sustainable businesses, jobs, and local development.

We know that ideas exist everywhere: About services, meeting places, climate-smart solutions, social enterprises, and collaborations. But far too many get stuck in systems that are not adapted for our rural areas.

Community power High Coast is therefore a development project that builds a new support system for idea bearers who want to create local benefit through entrepreneurship, collaboration, and social innovation. Here, associations, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, social entrepreneurs, and public actors meet to test, develop, and build something sustainable – together.

What can you apply for support for?

You can apply for support to collaboratively test, develop, and realize ideas that create community benefit in your area. The support can lead to new activities, products, services – or to new job opportunities.

Examples of initiatives you can receive support for:

testing a concept on a small scale,
developing a business model with community benefit,
conducting target group interviews or site analyses,
creating a prototype or demo,
preparing for social entrepreneurship,
bringing in expertise in law, financing, or collaboration,
building new forms of cooperation between associations, businesses, and the public sector.

Support is provided for a clearly defined initiative. When you have completed your test, you submit a final report – where you describe what you did, what worked, and what you learned. In this way, your work becomes part of Community power's shared learning.

How do you apply for support?

Community power consists of three different orientations. The support you seek depends on what type of idea you want to develop. Choose the orientation that fits your idea – there you will find more information and how to apply.

Place-based community solutions

Support for local ideas that strengthen services, collaboration, and development in rural areas.

Closed for applications right now.

Social entrepreneurship

Support for ideas that combine business acumen with community benefit – develop operations that make a difference locally.

Open for applications.

Sustainable local products and services

Support for testing and developing local products and services that contribute to a sustainable, resilient, and strong local business community.

Open for applications.