About us
The Center for Regional Analysis (CRA) brings together researchers with knowledge and interest in regional transformation and growth. It is a collaboration between the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg and the Region of Västra Götaland.
Local and regional partnerships
Centre for Regional Analysis (CRA) was created in partnership with the Region of Västra Götaland during spring 2006. The aim is to supply multi-faceted knowledge of local and regional prerequisites for competitiveness of the Region of Västra Götaland. A main issue is if there are any specific factors enabling the location of activities and attracting people to specific urban areas and regions. Another issue concerns how different actors (government, industry, and academia) interact and thereby contribute to urban and regional development. This interplay of knowledge processing imply a strategic position of the human being influencing regional competitiveness. Thus, the work of the CRA is performed by contacts to representatives of different authorities and organizations such as:
- Municipalities of Västra Götaland,
- the Region of Västra Götaland,
- Business support organizations
- Universities and research institutes.
History of CRA
The Center for Regional Analysis (CRA) was established in 2007 in a joint initiative by the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg and the Region of Västra Götaland. Its predecessor was the ICT research group, a group of researchers with a common interest on geographical prerequisites and impacts of information and communication technologies.
One challenge was to create harmony of this cacophony of demand by coordinating the ever-increasing flows of information to the human ability. Our studies are expected to provide knowledge of the locational effects of using ICT and furnish a better basis for decisions, e.g. concerning the build-up of the communication infrastructure.
Read the complete story of CRA.
International partners and networks
International partnership are typically linked to international research projects with European and global partners. Over the last years, CRA members have been involved in a large number of collaborative research projects, building up a global network of academics interested in regional analyses. CRA members have tight connections to research communities in the Nordic countries and abroad. CRA is also an active member of the Regional Studies Association (RSA), an international network concerned with the analysis of regions.
Members and research profiles
Hanna Martin – Assistant professor; socio-technical transitions and green growth
Kadri Kuusk – Postdoctoral researcher; regional development, labor mobility and skills
Martin Henning – Professor; regional economic transformation, labor mobility
Niklas Åkerman – Assistant professor; international business and business model innovation
Patrik Ström – Associate Professor; geography of services – international comparisons
Purushottam Adhikari - PhD candidate; regional development, circular economy, EU policy Roman Martin - Associate Professor; regional innovation systems, regional transformations
Sarah Franz - Postdoctoral researcher; international business and emerging economies
Yifei Wang – PhD candidate; regional development, R&D investments
The CRA steering group
Erik Elldér, Department of Economy and Society, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg
Emelie Hane-Weijman, Centre for Regional Science CERUM, Umeå University
Martin Henning, Department of Business Administration, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg (chairperson)
Kajsa Lindberg, Department of Business Administration, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg
Maria Nordbäck, Department of Business Administration, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg
Joacim Waara, Region Västra Götaland