- News article
Friskus – connecting municipalities, volunteers and families
When Lørenskog municipality signed an agreement with Friskus in 2018, it was among the first in Norway to do so. Seven years later, the solution has been adopted by around 100 municipalities across the country, and Oslo is now in the process of implementing it to help ensure that children from low income families can take part in leisure activities.
Written by
Therese Oppegaard
📸 Digitaliseringsetaten, Oslo Municipality
Lørenskog municipality needed a system for recruiting and managing volunteers. What they got turned out to be much more than that. Friskus brings together municipal events, activities offered by voluntary organisations and volunteer opportunities in one portal, visible to everyone.
– Friskus gives us a comprehensive and highly useful overview of most activities taking place in Lørenskog, as well as information about activity providers in the municipality, says Lillian Halvorsen, Special Adviser for Volunteering and Public Health in Lørenskog municipality.
It sounds simple, but the impact is greater than the sum of its parts. Staff in school health services, Frisklivssentralen and NAV meet residents every day who want to get involved in activities but do not know what is available. Friskus gives them a tool they can actually use in a busy working day. The municipality recently hired a leisure coordinator who supports families facing complex challenges and actively uses the portal to find relevant activities for children.
The portal has also changed the relationship between the municipality and the voluntary sector. When both sectors are present in the same digital space as equal partners, the threshold for collaboration becomes lower. Participation from voluntary organisations in municipal events has increased significantly since the portal was introduced.
– As a municipality, we also see value in providing information free from advertising and algorithms, particularly in light of developments in social media driven by Meta and other major international companies. The value of this was not as obvious in 2018, says Halvorsen.
This is what the activity calendar can look like in a municipality using Friskus. 📸 Friskus
Digitalisation as a tool for inclusion
While Lørenskog started with volunteer coordination, Oslo is addressing a different challenge: the fact that a family's financial situation can determine whether children are able to participate in leisure activities. The City of Oslo has partnered with Friskus to develop a digital leisure card. The solution will make it easier for families to apply for support, have their income assessed automatically and receive clear information about the benefits they are entitled to. The plan is to launch the solution during 2026.
– At its core, this is about using digitalisation as a practical tool for inclusion, says Marianne Martinsen, Project Manager at the Agency for Digital Government in the City of Oslo.
The collaboration began with a market dialogue where Friskus demonstrated its solution. The municipality quickly proceeded with a direct procurement process, precisely because Friskus already had a mature solution available.
– The City of Oslo chose a very efficient approach. It became clear that Friskus was unique in the market, says Sigrid Petersson Nedkvitne, CEO of Friskus.
The project is led by the Agency for Digital Government in collaboration with the Welfare Agency and the Department of Social Services, reflecting broad municipal ownership and signalling that the initiative is a high priority.
📸 Digitaliseringsetaten, Oslo Municipality
More than just technology
Nedkvitne herself spent ten years working in the public sector and believes that experience is essential for understanding what it actually takes to succeed in collaboration with municipalities.
– To succeed, you need to be highly solution oriented and have deep expertise in the area you are innovating in. That gives you a solid foundation for the many decisions that need to be made along the way, she says.
In Lørenskog, the municipality describes the supplier as “exceptionally responsive” and highlights the fact that Friskus is also transparent about the limitations of its own solution. The municipality is currently testing task sharing, where unemployed people and individuals requiring tailored support contribute to specific tasks that complement the work of healthcare professionals. Friskus is clear that this requires more than an app: municipalities must allocate resources for coordination and follow up. Lørenskog has been a customer since 2018, reflecting the strength of the partnership.
The close collaboration between the municipalities and the supplier illustrates how the public and private sectors can join forces around solutions with genuine social impact.
– The result is that children can play football, take swimming lessons or join a marching band, without their family's financial situation determining whether they can participate, the founder concludes.
Would you like to learn more about Friskus? Check out this podcast on Spotify.
Friskus celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2027 and will mark the occasion with its own conference. Visit the company’s website for the latest updates and event information.
