ABSTRACT
From 1977, county municipalities in Norway had responsibility for a large proportion of business support measures in regional policy. Politically, the decisions were controlled by the county's standing committee on industry. The commission recommended the establishment of regional agencies within the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund (SND). This chapter focuses on the changing role of the county municipality in regional policy. It discusses the main features in the development of Norwegian regional policy. The chapter looks at the models for regional governance and regional policy in some European countries in order to put the Norwegian model in perspective. The key argument is that Norway has been characterised by a strong role for elected bodies at the county level in the implementation of regional policy. The initiating and developing role on the part of the county municipality in regional policy - the role as a regional development actor, was linked particularly to the many projects the county municipalities had going.
