The challenge
When the previous municipal vision was developed in 2009, only physical dialogues were held – a good but resource-intensive way of working – and when the municipality faced a new vision process in 2025, it wanted to go digital.
Nordanstig Municipality faced the task of shaping a long-term vision: “What will Nordanstig look like in 2040?” To get a broad and anchored picture of the Nordanstig of the future, the municipality wanted to reach both permanent residents and people with ties to the area – from those who have moved back to summer visitors. One aim was to create clarity about how the population wanted to see Nordanstig for future generations.
The challenge was to:
Collect a large number of ideas and thoughts in an exploratory way instead of traditional surveys Engage also those who do not usually take part in traditional consultations Show transparency in the process and give feedback to the participants Turn large amounts of opinions into real change
The solution
With the Vocean platform, Nordanstig could open up a digital dialogue where anyone could:
Submit their own ideas about the municipality of the future See what others had already suggested and also read an AI summary Vote on and like other people’s suggestions
Participation was completely open – whether you lived in the municipality or just felt strongly about the place. Answers were divided into age groups, which made it possible to filter the answers and also to let the AI analyse similarities and differences.
Communication took place through:
The municipality’s website Social media Local news Physical posters with a QR code in public places
Residents could submit as many suggestions as they wanted, whenever they wanted. This created a living, ongoing dialogue rather than a one-off effort.
The result
With Vocean’s AI support, the municipality could quickly analyse and summarise the large inflow of ideas.
The results could be shared with the public directly through the same links and QR codes that had been used to collect answers – a simple way to give feedback and create transparency.
The municipality could also use the AI to get concrete insights as a basis for the vision text and upcoming decisions.
Key insights
A digital dialogue can reach both traditional and new target groups QR codes in physical places connect digital and physical communication AI analysis enables fast processing of large amounts of qualitative data Transparency in the process builds trust and engagement A continuous dialogue creates better results than one-off efforts
Next steps
During the autumn, the municipality is inviting people to focus groups and physical dialogue meetings, including at the Bergsjögården cultural centre. There, the conversation about the ideas that came in digitally will be taken further.
With the help of Vocean’s AI, the municipality can, ahead of these meetings:
Generate discussion material Highlight exciting ideas to take further Identify contradictions or blind spots in earlier answers
The answers from the dialogue will also be input for the municipality’s elected representatives to workshop on, where Vocean can be used to suggest discussion questions and create effective collaboration.
Nordanstig’s journey towards Vision 2040 is still in full swing and the dialogue is far from over; it will be kept alive with feedback on the answers and important follow-up questions. The municipality’s vision work has been praised in national media, and thanks to a combination of technology, transparency and trust, the municipality continues to build its future together with those who know the place best.
