Description
Country
Focus area
RAPS is a tool for regional planning regarding, e.g., the development of the labour market. It is not explicitly related to VET-systems, but it serves as information to regional decisionmakers, and this can involve VET-governance or job matching.
Link
Reference/weblink
Implementation level
At what level is the initiative implemented?
National
Legal base
Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
Executive order (förordning)
Starting period
TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
RAPS became operational back in 2000
Perspective
PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
Yes. One of the parts in RAPS is a system based on a forecasting database of (among other things) the labopur market.
Policy area
To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
Also information on tendencies within the population i.e., demographics and regional economic development etc.
Funding
How it is funded?
Funded by national government
Skill mismatch
Skill mismatch target
What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
Other
The initiative does not explicitly focus on skills mismatches since the statistics and forecast of the labour market is only one part of the tool (it does also focus on other areas important for regional development).
Skills matching focus
How does the initiative address skills mismatches?
The initiative does not explicitly focus on skills mismatches since the statistics and forecast of the labour market is only one part of the tool (it does also focus on other areas important for regional development).
Methods
Methods
What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
Skills forecasting
RAPS is, as mentioned, a tool for regional planning regarding for example the development of the labour market. With RAPS it is possible to come up with forecasts regarding among other things the labour market.
Use of skills intelligence
How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
The LMI provided can be used in regional analyses showing the regional development within the labour market. For example, it is possible to use the LMI to look into the current situation as well as historical flashbacks and forward-looking forecasts and scenarios.
Stakeholders
Main responsible body
Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
National agency
The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket)
Other involved organisations
Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
Research centres, universities
Research centres use RAPS as an analytical tool to study developments in regional employment etc.
Other
The development of RAPS takes place between several different actors, including The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Statistics Sweden (SCB) and other partners. These actors mainly use RAPS as an analytical tool for their own analyses.
Beneficiaries
Who are the intended beneficiaries?
Other
RAPS serves as information to regional decisionmakers. This is due to the fact that it is a tool for regional planning of selected areas important for regional development. Furthermore, RAPS is used by regional associations, county administrative boards, municipalities, government agencies, private consulting companies as well as universities.
Sustainability
Success factors
SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
RAPS informs many analyses about the present and future regional development in Sweden, which can be seen as a success criteria, although this is not explicitly stated anywhere.
Monitoring and evaluation
MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
There is no evaluation or monitoring of RAPS available.
Updates
UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
Yes
Tillvaxtverket occasionally updates the models in RASP. It affects the way RAPS can be used to e.g., skill forecasting.
Effectiveness
EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
There is no evidence on assessment of the effectiveness of the instrument.
Sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
RAPS' system perspective on the region in combination with the richness of detail in RAPS statistics makes the forecasting tool a valuable instrument for regional analysis. Furthermore, the tool is used by several actors such as regional associations, county administrative boards, municipalities, government agencies, private consulting companies as well as universities indicating that it creates a certain kind of value for important institutions in society. Altogether, this points to the fact that RAPS is a sustainable policy instrument and, therefore, it is most likely to continue to be around over the next couple of years.
Other instruments in Sweden
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