The project is a follow-up evaluation that examines the societal consequences of the expansion at The Quartz Corp in Hamarøy Municipality (TQC) over the next few years.

Background

With over 150 employees, TQC is today a cornerstone company in Hamarøy municipality and Drag. As a result of increased focus on sustainability, demand for processed quartz from TQC has grown, and the company is in the process of expanding production. It is this growth that is behind TQC's plans to expand its workforce by 100 new employees over the next two years. Today, TQC recruits its employees locally, nationally and internationally and will, by all accounts, continue to do so. Thus, the expansion of TQC will likely result in relocation to the municipality and to the town of Drag. 

As of today, TQC is an attractive employer with good pay and working conditions. At the same time, the expansion of the factory and increased immigration to the municipality may be challenging in several ways, including for the Lule Sami population in and around the town of Drag and for the position of the Lule Sami language in Drag and elsewhere in the municipality. Increased immigration may also affect the availability of, among other things, public services, the labor market and the housing market. 

What is the purpose of the project?

The purpose of this project is to investigate two main questions:

1. How is the local community on Drag in general and the Lule Sami population in particular affected, positively and negatively, by the expansion of TQC? 

2. What are the experiences and views of the local community and immigrants on measures that have been implemented to promote integration or prevent and/or reduce undesirable consequences of the expansion? What suggestions do they have for further measures?

The project is based on local perspectives from the local community at Drag, and involves local actors such as the Árran Lulesamik Center as a partner in the project. 

What is included in the project?

The project is a follow-up evaluation that examines the societal impacts of the expansion at TQC over the next few years. The project began in May 2024 with a public meeting at Árran in Drag, and will end in December 2026.

The project includes the following sub-elements:

• Interviews with local community representatives

• Focus groups with residents

• Interviews and questionnaire survey among TQC employees

What does the project entail for TQC employees?

All employees at TQC at Drag are invited to participate in a questionnaire survey in December 2024/January 2025 and early 2026. The questionnaire survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes and will be completed online. The questionnaire survey is anonymous, and participation is voluntary. 

To prepare and test the questionnaire survey, we will also interview 5-6 employees at TQC in the fall of 2024. Participation is voluntary. Participants will receive further information about the interview from the project team.

Who is implementing the project?

The project is carried out by Nordland Research Institute , in collaboration with Nord University and Árran Lule Sami Center. The project is a commissioned project, funded by Nordland County Council.

Project manager is Majken Paulsen ( Nordland Research Institute ). Others Researchers Participating in the project is Birgit Pauksztat ( Nordland Research Institute ), Tove Mentsen Ness (Nord University) and Oddmund Andersen (Árran Lule Sami Center).

How are the project results communicated?

The results will be presented in a report and a presentation to the local population at the end of 2026. In addition, the results may be published in a scientific article.

Briefly about privacy

Participation in the interviews and questionnaire survey is voluntary.

The information from the interviews and the questionnaire survey will be used exclusively for the purposes we have outlined in this letter. We treat all personal information confidentially and in accordance with the data protection regulations. You can read more about data protection at sikt.no . Commissioned by Nordland Research Institute AS, the privacy services at Sikt – the knowledge sector's service provider, has assessed that the processing of personal data in this project is in accordance with privacy regulations.

If you have any questions, please contact

• Our Chief of Staff Jacob Normann

If you have any questions related to Sikt's assessment of the project, please contact us by email: personverntjenester@sikt.no , or by phone: 73 98 40 40.