Since the autumn of 2007, the Ministry of the Environment has held meetings with the project managers in the pilot municipalities several times. This photo was taken from the meeting in Berlevåg and Båtsfjord in August 2008. Photo: Astrid Larsen

The pilot municipality initiative is described as a giant municipal laboratory by reseachers in The Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR).

They find that the project reflects the recommendations found in the literature, leaving the pilot municipalities largely free to organise their activities themselves, with structured but limited reporting required.