RHA, FMSÍ and UST have received funding from the European Union as participants of a project which is a part of a new Northern Periphery Programmer – NPP. The grant is 12,8 million isk and is distributed on a three year basis. Total amount of Icelandic part of the project is 25,3 million isk.  The Research Centre of the University of Akureyri is the head supervisor of the project ”North Hunt, Sustainable Hunting Tourism - business opportunity”. The project is collaboration between , , and (Newfoundland and Labrador ). The goal of the project is to support the development of sustainable hunting for the enhancement of the economy and residence with emphasis on the hunting culture. The emphasis is on the dissemination of experience and knowledge between participants and to explore the possibility of a joint marketing of the name ”Northern brand” for sustainable hunting. Other parties to the project include The Icelandic Tourism Research Centre, Wildlife management department of The Environment Agency and others.

Guðrún Rósa Þórsteinsdóttir is the new director of RHA - The Research Centre of the University of Akureyri, taking over from Jón Ingi Benediktsson who had been acting director for one year. Guðrún Rósa holds a Ph.D. from the Göteborg University and has worked at the Research Centre since 2006. At RHA she has supervised research assessment at the University of Akureyri, taken part in research studies and appraisal of distant learning in Iceland and abroad and worked as the director of the Northern Research Forum secretariat in Iceland.

SINTEF Technology and Society, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture and University of Akureyri are organizing a workshop with the heading: “Value Creation in the Nordic Countries of the Fisheries and the Aquaculture”. Relevant institutions and organizations from the Nordic countries are invited to the workshop to present and discuss methodologies and approaches.

The content of the workshop is divided into the two main topics:

Sustainable Fisheries
Value Creation and Innovation

The Research and Development Centre of the University of Akureyri (RHA), in collaboration with, The Icelandic Tourism Research Centre (ITRC), the Environmental and Food Agency's wildlife management division and the Association of Reindeer Guides in Iceland, are partners in a joint Nordic research and development project on hunting tourism. The project aims to develop sustainable tourism around hunting in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability. It is funded by the Northern Periphery Programme and the preliminary preparations are now complete. A report detailing the status of hunting tourism in Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Canada is now available.

The report can be downloaded here for free

RHA has carried out an assessment of social and economic impact of new “Kjalvegur” (old traditional mountain road between south- and north parts of Iceland).  Both these researches are now open to public in two reports which can be seen here on the web but only in Icelandic.  The work was paid by Norðurvegur ehf which is a fellowship which intends to build this new road but it will cost over 4 billions ISK.

The purpose of the social impact report is to put light on likely social impacts following the new road.  In the economic impact report the Net present value and Inner rate of return of the project for the society is calculated using Cost-Benefit analysis.

The main author of these reports is Jón Þorvaldur Heiðarsson economist but co-authors are Hjalti Jóhannesson and Valtýr Sigurbjarnarson, both specialists at RHA and Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson freelance in tourism research.

The Icelandic Emigration Center at Hofsós was used as an example of a successful innovation project in Iceland.