Lena Engman

Region Värmland

Region Värmland is an organisation that the county's 16 municipalities have formed jointly with the county council to take responsibility for regional development, growth issues, culture, public transportation and adult education in Värmland. The organisation was set up in 2001 as a municipal association*. Six years later the organisation was changed when the Government decided that every county could set up a cooperative body** to take over responsibility for a number of Government functions from the county administrative boards. We have therefore been responsible for functions that include the planning of infrastructure in the region, i. e. rail, road, shipping and aviation, since 2007. Region Värmland is also responsible for five colleges for adult education and several regional resource centres, including Visit Värmland, the Regional Resource Center for Dance and the Regional Energy Agency. Everything we do at Region Värmland involves creating the conditions for growth in the county: growth that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. ‘A municipal association is a form of cooperation between municipalities that is regulated in the Local Government Act. County councils can also be members of municipal associations. **A cooperative municipal body is a municipal association made up of all the municipalities in a county. The county council can also be included. The cooperative bodies have taken over the task of regional development from the Government. From 2008 there are 14 cooperative bodies in Sweden.