Norwegian Authorities Research Articles

Vaccination in the post pandemic era - a qualitative study of the experiences of Somali immigrants

Abstract Background The Somali population is the largest non-European immigrant group in Norway and past studies have indicated lower coverage for both childhood vaccines and COVID-19. However, little is known about views and experiences of vaccination among this group and how their experiences might impact their vaccination decision-making process. This study explored views and experiences with vaccination among Somali immigrants in Norway. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 participants in the fall of 2022. To better understand the participants’ perceptions of vaccine information, the data was inductively analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis. Results Based on the thematic analysis, we focused on four sub themes: 1) the impact of COVID-19 on views of vaccines; 2) new versus old vaccines; 3) childhood vaccination; 4) trust in vaccines. The study found that the participants’ experiences during the pandemic have impacted their views on vaccination in general. Many of the participants expressed positive views and high levels of trust in the Norwegian health authorities and their vaccination recommendations. It was found that having sufficient information and trust in vaccination recommendations contributed to higher vaccine readiness. Viewing vaccines as new and insufficiently tested or researched, as well as lacking information about potential side-effects, increased participants’ hesitancy when faced with vaccination decisions. Among the parents in this study, postponing the measles-mumps-rubella-vaccine due to fear of autism was a common occurrence. Conclusions The current study fills an important gap in knowledge about views, experiences, and vaccination decisions among the Somali population in Norway. Knowledge from this study can help adapt better vaccine information and further improve the prevention of infectious diseases in Norway in general and for under-vaccinated groups in particular. Key messages • Having sufficient information and trust in vaccination recommendations contributed to higher vaccine readiness. • Viewing vaccines as new and insufficiently tested/researched, as well as lacking information about potential side-effects, increased participants’ vaccine hesitancy.

Reading Practices with Multilingual Children in Norwegian Kindergartens

One in five children in Norwegian kindergartens are multilingual, and reading practices that encourage the use of multilinguals’ entire linguistic repertoire can serve as important opportunities for language sharing, which is also encouraged by the Norwegian education authorities. In this study, we initially aimed to explore kindergarten reading practices involving languages other than Norwegian. When it became clear that such practices are rare, we expanded our investigation to include early childhood teachers’ experiences of reading with multilingual children more broadly. Our data sources consist of both self-reported data from a nationwide survey on reading practices in Norwegian kindergartens and six semi-structured focus group interviews with kindergarten staff. As reading in Norwegian kindergartens appears to occur in a space between kindergarten children’s right to meaningful experiences in different languages and their need to learn Norwegian, we shed light on what early childhood teachers highlight as central resources for reading with multilinguals. The key resources that emerge in the analyses encompass different forms of expression, hence multimodality is used as the overarching theoretical perspective in the study. Additionally, we discuss how good opportunities for promoting diverse reading practices become evident when kindergarten staff demonstrate curiosity, creativity, and a problem-solving approach to reading with multilinguals.

Torture Survivors in Asylum – Ignoring the Obvious

ABSTRACT Torture is prohibited at all times and in all circumstances and states shall not return asylum seekers to their country of origin if there is any substantial risk of persecution upon return. The future risk of torture is therefore a central element in any asylum assessment. This notwithstanding, the torture experience of asylum seekers is seldom addressed during the asylum interview, hardly ever documented and rarely given particular consideration during the asylum assessment. Torture survivors seeking asylum are therefore in a paradoxical situation, on the one hand universally acknowledged to be highly vulnerable and potentially worthy of protection and medical rehabilitation, and on the other hand having their torture experiences under-communicated and ignored. Based on research into the Norwegian immigration authorities, I will explore how ignorance is produced and maintained in everyday interaction with asylum seekers through the theoretical lens of ignorance. I argue that, during the Norwegian asylum procedure, the current paradox of hyper-visibility versus failure to acknowledge the torture experience is caused by the street-level bureaucrats’ inability to give consequence to and make bureaucratic and procedural sense of the torture experience. This inability is owing to a number of individual and structural forms of ignorance that range from bureaucratic obfuscation and rearrangement of the knowledge – ignorance assemblages, the strategic ignoring of facts, to a lack of knowledge and competency and, as such, an inability to know. However, rather than concluding that immigration bureaucracies produce indifferent street-level bureaucrats, I document the many attempts to care and to do better that do as an integral part of the ignorance that permeates the asylum system.

The battle against the introduced pathogenic monogenean Gyrodactylus salaris in Norwegian Atlantic salmon rivers and fish farms.

The introduced salmonid ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris has been detected on Atlantic salmon in 53 Norwegian rivers and in 39 Norwegian fish farms. In affected rivers, the mortality of Atlantic salmon juveniles is very high, estimated to a mean of 86%. G. salaris has been considered one of the biggest threats to wild Norwegian Atlantic salmon stocks. With various measures, the authorities have reduced the potential for further spread of the parasite to new rivers and fish farms, and G. salaris has been eradicated from 43 rivers and all fish farms. Furthermore, the eradication process is almost completed in five affected rivers located at the Norwegian west coast, while preparations for the eradication in the remaining five rivers in the southeastern part of Norway have begun. The goal of Norwegian management is to eradicate the introduced pathogenic G. salaris strains from all occurrences in Norway. In fish farms, the parasite has been removed by mandatory slaughter of infected fish. In rivers, G. salaris has mostly been removed by killing all the fish hosts with rotenone. The indigenous genetic Atlantic salmon stocks are re-established after eradication of the parasite. New methods are developed using chemicals that kill the parasite without killing fish in the rivers. Norwegian authorities have so far used more than NOK 1.5 billion on research, monitoring and combating G. salaris. However, the benefits are considered many times greater than the spending. Without control measures, G. salaris would likely have spread to new Atlantic salmon rivers where the same catastrophic outcome had to be expected. The Norwegian authorities seem to meet the goal in their long-term work to halt the spread of G. salaris and to eradicate the parasite in affected rivers.

The Worldview-Open Society, the Worldview-Controlling State and Non-Profit Welfare Actors: Norway as a Case

Abstract Diaconal actors, constituting the main share of health and caring institutions within the non-profit sector in Norway, face challenges as well as opportunities. The article analyzes the political framework that diaconal actors do operate under. Opportunities include strong political acknowledgements of the societal role of non-profit actors, decisions on increasing the overall share of their service provision, tender competitions reserved for non-profit actors, and the Norwegian emphasis on a worldview-open society. The authorities do also emphasize diversity as positive. The article demonstrates different understandings of requirements for being termed non-profit. Not only the actor itself must specify in its articles of association that profits must be reinvested to promote social purposes; recently the government has emphasized that also the owner(s) of actors must an establish such a non-profit social purpose in their articles of association. Specific examples are given of how Norwegian authorities act as promoters of a worldview-open society and a worldview-controlling state.

Disclosure of parental physical abuse: Patterns in disclosure attempts among Norwegian teenagers

AbstractIn recent years, Norwegian authorities have intensified their efforts to prevent and prosecute domestic violence while prioritising the protection of victims, with initiatives such as action plans, strategic measures and various programmes, with a particular focus on children. Despite increased awareness of violence towards children, a significant portion still goes unreported. Our study aims to examine patterns in disclosure attempts among Norwegian teenagers. We studied 11,615 teenagers from the Local Youth Survey between 2014 and 2016 who confirmed experiencing physical violence from an adult family member. Our findings indicate that, among those who did try to disclose, informal confidants like parents or friends, rather than school employees, were the preferred choices. When examining the factors that influence the likelihood of attempting to disclose, we observed that the frequency of violence played a significant role in explaining variation. The likelihood of attempting disclosure was also higher among girls and among those with a low socioeconomic background. Part of this pattern was confirmed also when studying the subgroup that had tried to disclose: the probability of attempting to tell a school employee was higher among those who had a low socioeconomic background and was exposed to violence more frequently. In this subgroup, however, no significant gender differences were observed.

Embedding sustainability into the design of street lighting

Light pollution is an increasing problem and Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) affects nature in many ways. The Norwegian Road Authorities (SVV) initiated a collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy (NIBIO) and the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) to find measures that can help reduce the negative impacts of road lighting on the environment and nature. While USN has looked more generally at sustainable lighting design and ways to reduce the negative effects of road lighting, NIBIO has focused on how road lighting affects insects. We study how the light from roads contributes to light pollution, with the final aim to know more about what measures most effectively reduce the negative effects of road lighting. In this pilot study of light levels in two transects beside a road, the results show that the light levels decreased relatively fast as the distance to the light source increased. Thus, the direct light from the road lighting might not be the most prominent addition to the light pollution in the open landscape. On the other hand, the measurements showed some light influence from the road up to around 160 meters from the road, although the levels were low. While the light was below the detection limit, the light source was visible as a point source at a very large distance. This observation addresses the question of whether organisms are influenced by the average light energy per area, or the intensity of a source as observed from a distance (irradiance vs. radiance). Additional sources of light pollution may affect the result, such as unshielded private light sources and sky glow. This project aims to find measures that can help reduce the negative impacts of road lighting on the environment and nature. We study how the light from roads contributes to different components of light pollution, like skyglow, light trespass and luminance from the light source.

Adverse reactions to dental biomaterials: Experiences from a specialty clinic

ObjectivesThe Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit was initiated by the Norwegian health authorities in 1992 as a response to the public concern regarding the safety of dental amalgam and other dental materials. In this paper, experiences from the Unit are briefly summarized. MethodsThe Norwegian health authorities’ strategy included four main topics: (i) development of a manufacturer-independent system for monitoring adverse reactions related to dental materials, (ii) funding of a specialty unit for clinical examinations of referred patients, (iii) development of official guidelines for examination and treatment of patients with health complaints attributed to dental materials, and (iv) funding of an experimental treatment project for patients with health complaints attributed to dental amalgam. ResultsFrom the start, more than 2700 adverse reaction reports were received. In the initial years, amalgam was the most frequent material mentioned in the reports. Reports about polymer-based composite materials have not increased after the prohibition of amalgam in Norway. Clinical examination of referred patients is complex and time consuming, and it is important to consider differential diagnoses. There are methodological challenges associated with the design of experimental treatments used on patients with adverse reactions attributed to dental materials. However, the results from the treatment project indicate lower symptom load after replacement of amalgam with other dental restorative materials. SignificanceProducer independent adverse reaction reporting can provide valuable information about the safety of these materials and could serve as a complement to the mandatory reporting system described in the European medical device regulations (MDR).

Medication-Free Treatment in Mental Health Care How Does It Differ from Traditional Treatment?

Norwegian authorities have implemented treatment units devoted to medication-free mental health treatment nationwide to improve people's freedom of choice. This article examines how medication-free treatment differs from treatment as usual across central dimensions. The design was mixed methods including questionnaire data on patients from a medication-free unit and two comparison units (n 59 + 124), as well as interviews with patients (n 5) and staff (n 8) in the medication-free unit. Medication-free treatment involved less reliance on medications and more extensive psychosocial treatment that involved a culture of openness, expression of feelings, and focus on individual responsibility and intensive work. The overall extent of patient influence for medication-free treatment compared with standard treatment was not substantially different to standard treatment but varied on different themes. Patients in medication-free treatment had greater freedom to reduce or not use medication. Medication-free treatment was experienced as more demanding. For patients, this could be connected to a stronger sense of purpose and was experienced as helpful but could also be experienced as a type of pressure and lack of understanding. Patients in medication-free treatment reported greater satisfaction with the treatment, which may be linked to a richer psychosocial treatment package that focuses on patient participation and freedom from pressure to use medication. The findings provide insights into how a medication-free treatment service might work and demonstrate its worth as a viable alternative for people who are not comfortable with the current medication focus of mental health care. Patients react differently to increased demands and clinicians should be reflexive of the dimensions of individualism-relationism in medication-free treatment services. This knowledge can be used to further develop and improve both medication-free treatment and standard treatment regarding shared decision-making. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT03499080) on 17 April 2018.

Inadequate nutritional care for malnourished patients in four university hospitals – The QuaNuT study

Background & AimsAdequate nutritional care to malnourished patients is described as a human right, and recommendations from nutritional care guidelines are legally binding in Norway. The primary objective of this study was to investigate nutritional care in malnourished hospitalized patients. We also wanted to describe the association between malnutrition and length of stay (LOS), readmission, comorbidity and mortality. MethodsIn a cross-sectional, multi-center and quality assurance study, inpatients from four university hospitals across all regional health authorities in Norway were included. The hospital´s nutritional care during admission was evaluated according to current malnutrition guidelines. Malnutrition risk screening, assessment for diagnosis and grading severity of malnutrition were performed with Nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and the Global Leadership Initiative on malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. Medical records were reviewed to collect data on nutritional support during admission, malnutrition coding, LOS, readmission, comorbidity and 30-days survival after hospital admission. ResultsIn our mixed inpatient population (n 442, mean age 61 years, 53 % women), 42 % were not adequately screened for risk of malnutrition at hospital admission. Among the 29 % of malnourished patients, only 36 % had documented nutritional support in the medical records, and a malnutrition diagnosis was registered for only 30 %. Malnutrition was associated with LOS, increased comorbidity and reduced 30-day survival. ConclusionIn this study across all Norwegian regional health authorities, we found a high malnutrition rate and the nutritional care in relation to malnutrition diverged from national and international established guidelines and the framework of national laws and legislation. The findings raise concerns regarding patient safety and potential for improved nutritional care as a human right. Although malnutrition was associated with longer length of hospital stay, comorbidity and reduced 30-day survival, this study does not establish causal relationships.

Innovation and traffic safety: analysis of four Norwegian county authorities

This study examines the relationships between traffic safety innovations, innovation culture, and safety culture in four Norwegian county authorities three years after a comprehensive structural reform. Following the reform, the county authorities had to establish new organisations, routines, and systems. The study is based on qualitative interviews (N = 42) and a quantitative survey (n = 392) among people who work with traffic safety and/or mobility in the county authorities. The qualitative results show in particular that the respondents have gained new perspectives on traffic safety as a result of being co-organised with new professional groups. Additionally, we see examples of new methods and new forms of collaboration in traffic safety being implemented. The survey results show statistically significant differences between the county authorities' scores on an index for traffic safety innovations. County authorities' scores on this index is predicted by the county authorities' innovation culture, which in turn is predicted by safety culture. This indicates that innovation culture should be understood as an aspect of a learning safety culture. We find statistically significant differences between county authorities with respect to how demanding the organizational changes related to the regional reform have been for the county authorities studied. The results from this study can also be useful for change processes in other organisations.

Geopolitics, diplomacy, or idealistic research? Framing the research community in Ny-Ålesund

ABSTRACT The former mining town of Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway has evolved into an international research community with over 20 research institutions from more than 10 countries. Although the Norwegian government has welcomed the increasing internationalisation of Ny-Ålesund, they also emphasise that all research activities on Svalbard are to be exclusively regulated by the Norwegian authorities, culminating in 2016 when the Norwegian government announced a firmer host role policy for the research community. Not all countries agree with this view, however. This dispute relates to the increased political interests in the region at large, with new resource possibilities as a key element. The Ny-Ålesund situation therefore makes an interesting case study of the relationship between research and geopolitics. Given that much of the scholarly discourse on Svalbard focuses on states’ interests and international relations, there is a risk that perspectives on the purpose of research in Ny-Ålesund that focus less on the geopolitical aspects are neglected. Drawing on Goffman’s concept of frame and fieldwork conducted during August – December 2022, this article explores different interpretations of the purpose of the research community in Ny-Ålesund. Specifically, the focus here is directed to the Norwegian government’s decision to enforce a firmer host role policy for Ny-Ålesund, which intensified the tensions between the various interests and perceptions related to the purpose of the research community.

Health vs. privacy. How Norwegian public authorities and news media framed the newly developed digital contact tracing app “Smittestopp” under the COVID-19 pandemic

Health vs. privacy. How Norwegian public authorities and news media framed the newly developed digital contact tracing app “Smittestopp” under the COVID-19 pandemic

Earnings management in local governments under a soft control regime

PurposeThis study explores whether hard regulatory control decreases the level of earnings management in local governments. The implementation of a new regulatory approach by Norwegian authorities provides the opportunity for an empirical study.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a two-stage strategy to investigate the existence of earnings management, using the Jones (1991) and modified Jones (Dechow et al., 1995) models to construct a random-effects model.FindingsThe authors test the hypothesis that, given decentralisation of control, there will be an increase in opportunistic financial reporting. This study's findings suggest that this is not the case, thereby indicating that a soft control regime does not diminish discipline in municipalities.Practical implicationsThis study has practical implications for policymaking in the public sector. Its findings suggest that municipalities do not engage in more earnings management under a soft regulatory regime. Hence, other authorities should consider adopting a soft regulatory approach to controlling local governments and their financial reporting systems.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a growing body of literature regarding earnings management by local governments. The authors investigate a hypothesis previously untested in the literature by comparing the degree of earnings management under different regulatory control regimes.

Dealing with dissent from the medical ranks: Public health authorities and COVID-19 communication.

During a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health authorities will typically be criticized for their efforts. When such criticism comes from the ranks of medical personnel, the challenge becomes more pronounced for the authorities, as it suggests a public negotiation of who has sufficient expertise to handle the pandemic. Hence, the authorities are faced with the challenge of defending their competence and advice, while at the same time adhering to a bureaucratic/scientific ethos that imposes communicative boundaries. This explorative study analyzes the response strategies used by the Norwegian public health authorities in this regard. A main finding is that the authorities shunned aggressive language and mostly relied on a strategy pointing to well-established values such as proportionality (between the measures and the gravitas of the epidemiological situation) and relevance (the measures should meet the challenge in question).

Attitudes towards the childhood immunisation programme among Polish immigrants in Norway

Abstract Background Norwegian-born children by Polish-born parents have lower coverage of some childhood vaccines than the general population in the nationwide Childhood Immunisation Programme. However, we know little about why this group have lower coverage. This study explored attitudes towards the Childhood Immunisation Programme among Polish immigrants in Norway. This knowledge can enhance vaccine information and further improve the prevention of infectious diseases in Norway. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Polish immigrants in Norway in the fall of 2022. The project explored vaccination in general, while the focus herein is on child vaccination. To better understand how the experiences and knowledge shape the participants’ attitudes towards vaccines and vaccination, the data was inductively analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis is ongoing, and results are thus preliminary. Results Most of the participants had lived more than 10 years in Norway, while three had lived here for less than five years. All the participants had children. Based on the thematic analysis, we focused on three sub themes: 1) view of the child immunisation programme; 2) vaccine hesitancy; and 3) differences in childhood vaccination between Poland and Norway. Most of the participants’ children followed the immunisation programme. Some reported hesitancy towards the pneumococcal vaccine and the human papilloma virus vaccine. The majority of the participants expressed feeling less vaccine pressure in Norway than Poland and emphasized a high level of trust in the Norwegian health authorities. Conclusions The knowledge related to vaccine attitudes and differences between the Polish and the Norwegian programmes identified in the study, can help adapt better vaccine information and further improve the prevention of infectious diseases in Norway in general and for under-vaccinated groups in particular. Key messages • This knowledge can be used to adapt better vaccine information. • This knowledge can help to improve the prevention of infectious diseases in Norway and for under-vaccinated groups in particular.

Occupation-related factors affecting the health of migrants working during the COVID-19 pandemic – a qualitative study in Norway

BackgroundThe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were more pronounced among migrants than in the majority population and went beyond those directly caused by the virus. Evidence suggests that this overburden is due to complex interactions between individual and structural factors. Some groups of working migrants were in vulnerable positions, overrepresented in essential jobs, under precarious work conditions, and ineligible for social benefits or special COVID-19 economic assistance. This study aimed to explore the experience of migrants working in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic to gather an in-depth understanding of the pandemic´s impact on their health and well-being, focusing on occupation-related factors.MethodsIn-depth personal interviews with 20 working migrants from different job sectors in Bergen and Oslo were conducted. Recruitment was performed using a purposive sampling method. Thematic analysis was used.ResultsAt the workplace level, factors such as pressure to be vaccinated, increased in occupational hazards, and increased structural discrimination negatively impacted migrants’ health. Other factors at the host country context, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and changes in the labour market, also had a negative effect. However, the good Norwegian welfare system positively impacted migrants’ well-being, as they felt financially protected by the system. Increased structural discrimination was the only factor clearly identified as migrant-specific by the participants, but according to them, other factors, such as changes in social networks in and out of the workplace and social benefits in Norway, seemed to have a differential impact on migrants.ConclusionsOccupational-related factors affected the health and well-being of working migrants during the pandemic. The pressure to get vaccinated and increased structural discrimination in the workplace need to be addressed by Norwegian authorities as it could have legal implications. Further research using intersectional approaches will help identify which factors, besides discrimination, had a differential impact on migrants. This knowledge is crucial to designing policies towards zero discrimination at workplaces and opening dialogue arenas for acknowledging diversity at work.

Lidelse og frigjøring: TV som minneaktør i 70- og 75-årsmarkeringene av den siste krigsvinteren i Nord-Norge

In this article, I compare two tv-programs about the ending of WWII in northern Norway, aired by the Norwegian Public Broadcaster (NRK). The first one was sent from Tromsø October 31st 2014, with the title, “The Autumn they lost everything,” and marked the 70 years anniversary of the forced evacuation of the people, as almost all houses in Finnmark and Northern Troms were burnt down when the Nazis retreated from the area after being defeated by the Red Army. The second was aired from Kirkenes five years later, in 2019, marking the 75 years anniversary. The title was “Saved by the Russians,” as the celebration of the heroism of the soldiers and the relationship between Russia and Norway were the main topics.The structure of the analysis concentrates on three aspects of the programs. First, I look at the ways tv-resources are being used in each of them, focusing on the host style and the aesthetics of the live studio. Secondly, I show how the programs express a northern identity by addressing critical perspectives on the main national story of WWII and the lack of support from Norwegian authorities for the people in the north during the autumn and winter of 1944/45. The third aspect concerns the ways memories of the war are being connected to contemporary issues. In 2014 this is the refugee situation in Europe, whereas the program in 2019 discusses the value of memory culture in relation to political controversies about Norway’s defence strategy in the north vis á vis Russia. By following these three aspects of the tv-programs, the analysis sheds light on their functions as memory agents situated in a particular media context, in which the regional perspective on WWII is being negotiated within the framework of national public television.

Trust in healthcare before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundPublic trust is often advantageous for health authorities during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Norwegian health authorities used the public´s high trust to control the pandemic, resulting in relatively few casualties.MethodsWe wanted to describe and compare the Norwegian public trust in GPs, public healthcare, information and treatment in hospitals before and during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, we wanted to investigate the relationship between somatic or mental illness, and trust in GPs and public health information, and to develop a theoretical understanding of the relationship between trust in healthcare institutions, generalised trust and the societal situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We performed two surveys, the first in December 2019; the second in May 2020, thus providing two snapshots of the Norwegian public’s trust in healthcare and healthcare actors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsThere was statistically significant increased trust in public healthcare, in treatment at hospital and in information at hospital after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a non-significant rise in trust in GPs. We found that trust in public health information was not related to mental health nor having a chronic, somatic disease.ConclusionThe findings confirm that the Norwegian public’s trust in healthcare and healthcare actors is high. The trust levels are also relatively stable, and even show an increase during the early phases of the pandemic. We suggest that there is a dynamic relationship between trust in public health information, healthcare institutions, generalised trust and a societal crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the GP-patient trust seems less affected by a crisis situation, than the public´s trust in healthcare institutions. This difference may be explained by the relative stability caused by mandates of trust obtained from the patient.

Innovation policy in the Norwegian aquaculture industry: Reshaping aquaculture production innovation networks

While aquaculture production in a number of countries has been highly successful in terms of production growth, there is also a number of instances where the rapid growth has been curtailed due to sustainability challenges. In response, fostering sustainable aquaculture production has become a key policy and research agenda. The point of departure for this paper is the radical technological innovations based sustainable restructuring dynamics of the Norwegian salmon farming industry, which despite becoming one of the most profitable aquaculture industries in the world, has in recent years seen its growth curtailed due to sustainability challenges. To address these challenges and to enable the use of new areas currently inaccessible by the incumbent aquaculture technology, the Norwegian authorities launched in 2015 a new type of innovation policy instrument, known as development licences. Based on a mapping of the aquaculture production technology development projects as well as in-depth interviews, this paper elucidates how the targeted innovation policy instrument has instigated the sustainable restructuring process of the Norwegian aquaculture industry. Our findings indicate that in the short term, the innovation policy appears to have succeeded in the reconfiguration, and more precisely, the 'renewal' process of the aquaculture production technology innovation networks (ecosystems) thanks to the entry of the new capable actors into the segment. However, we emphasise that the overall success of the innovation policy instrument will ultimately hinge upon sufficiently addressing certain aspects of the institutional failures in the sector.