Project partners: Linköping University, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB, SmåKom, Vilhelmina Municipality, Norsjö Municipality
Grant: SEK 4 677 710
Project duration: 2026-07-01 – 2028-12-31
Contact person: Robert Jonsson, Linköping University
Description of the project
Small municipalities face increasing difficulties in ensuring a secure water and wastewater supply. They are expected to meet the same requirements as major cities, but with limited resources and shrinking populations. The Swedish Water Services Act, the Local Government Act’s requirements for sound financial management, and the new Cybersecurity Act (2025:1506) following the EU NIS2 Directive together create a complex policy environment that often exceeds local capacity. The project SmåTrygg aims to create the conditions necessary for small municipalities to deliver safe and sustainable water services by 2050. Through policy labs in the municipalities of Vilhelmina and Norsjö, and with the organisation SmåKom as a policy advocacy platform and discussion partner, the project examines how small actors can navigate national and European regulatory frameworks. Two types of outputs will be produced: “Household Tips” – practical guidance for financial and strategic management within the existing legal framework, and “Warning Flags” – reform messages highlighting areas where laws and regulations are incompatible with the conditions faced by small municipalities. The project is carried out by Linköping University, RISE, SmåKom, and the pilot municipalities. The results will be disseminated through the networks R10, InfraMaint, and WaterWise Societies, thereby strengthening small municipalities and contributing to a safer, more resilient, and more vibrant Sweden.
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Goals and tasks
- Resilient supply and management of water in society
- Secure supply and management of water
