The Knowledge Network's research activities essentially consist of the following aspects:
The Knowledge Network has the role, according to its charter and agreement with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Children's Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Innovation, and Higher Education, of servicing scientific and academic work in Þingeyjarsýslar. Thus, the emphasis is on hosting researchers and assisting those who conduct research in Þingeyjarsýslar in various ways. Such services are provided through access to the Knowledge Network's premises, equipment, and network, in addition to providing advice in formal and informal ways on research work.
This research service is provided to various parties, primarily the following:
The Knowledge Network has, according to an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Children's Affairs, certain obligations to initiate research and development work in the region. In this way, it seeks to gain knowledge about the society or environment in the region through research and participation in various development projects.
These projects are mostly national and focus on issues within the region, i.e. the Knowledge Network's area of operation. The Knowledge Network's specialization in its own initiative projects is the region; i.e. both the community and the environment of the area of operation. Thus, the approach is based on interdisciplinary criteria based on specialization in the region rather than individual professional fields. However, from the beginning, the Knowledge Network has been involved to a considerable extent in initiative projects that are related to a practical and regional approach.
The Knowledge Network has increasingly been involved in and actively participated in foreign/international research and development projects. These projects are almost always based on collaboration between numerous institutions and companies and are in most cases based on a Nordic or European foundation.
Selling expert work is always part of the work that the Knowledge Network's research department does. This usually involves service requests and information gathering for municipalities or in collaboration with them. For several years, the Knowledge Network has also carried out a large-scale monitoring project for Landsvirkjun and other parties, namely the so-called "Sustainability Project in North Iceland", which has been given the name "Gaumur". That project has an independent website where the results of social and environmental monitoring are published: www.gaumur.is.
Every year, the Knowledge Network emphasizes holding temporary research projects for university students. These projects are mostly financed from a project fund managed by the Knowledge Network, which is financed by the municipalities in Þingeyjarsýslar. In every year since the establishment of the Knowledge Network, the organization has held such projects, usually between 3-5 per summer. The goal of these projects is essentially twofold, i.e. on the one hand, to introduce research work in the home region to young students from the area and create employment, and on the other hand, to create a platform for practical research that can have a positive impact on strengthening the communities.
The website contains all of the Knowledge Network's published material , and it also provides access to most of the research that the institute has published.