Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol1-1 > Linking rural SMEs to the scientific community

SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest research groups. With our 2,150 employees we cover a wide range of knowledge and competence in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences. Our vision, Technology for a better society, is part of each project we work with, and we perform around 2,000 industrial and public projects a year. Our strength lies in our ability to perform tasks for our industrial and public-sector clients by turning research into actual solutions for our clients.

SINTEF Technology and Society is one of six divisions in the SINTEF Group. We focus on health, transport, technology management, safety and applied economics. Our Department of Innovation and Industrial Development has been the spearhead for connecting rural districts to national and international knowledge providers. In the course of many years scientific work and practical implementations have resulted in our own concept called “Virtuous circles”. A holistic approach to innovation is the core of this concept – a concept that we have already realised in three regions in Norway.

Four principles for holistic approach

Our concept “Virtuous circles” is based on four basic principles which are then adapted in different ways depending on the needs of the regions: being present, humble, co-generative and fresh. Our research and work on innovation and regional development have shown that these elements are of key importance if we wish to create sustainable solutions – at both company and local level.

By “being present”, we mean that our researchers remain for some time in a particular region and work together with local businesses, the authorities and local politicians. This provides new ideas and possibilities, and therefore we also call it “co-generative”. In our concept we behave both freshly and humbly at the same time. By “fresh” we mean combining experts from untraditional sectors, for example by connecting artists with companies in common strategy process, as happened in our project in Western Norway. Or by using architect students in local planning process in our project in Mid-Norway.

Being “humble” means that we might be the experts in our fields, but it is the local companies, authorities and inhabitants who know best – sometimes they just need external help to define needs and find the right support to carry through the projects.

Education close to practice

Our research has demonstrated that companies are increasingly depending on their global and local environment. This will become an ever-more important success criterion in the future, and it means that we need to operate on several levels: we assist businesses through projects and process developments, we cooperate closely with the public sector, and we connect the two parties.

A good example of how innovation can be done from a holistic point of view is education close to practice, where pupils from primary and secondary schools work in local companies. This offers an early start to future recruitment and creates positive links between pupils and business.

Giving regions the best knowledge

In our concept, connecting the best knowledge to the region is of great importance. We know that no one can be best in the world by themselves. This is why we also actively connect knowledge providers from other national and international universities and institutes. It is also of importance that national financial programmes or EU programmes are actively utilised to realise projects.

The portfolios of projects in each of our three regional projects are impressive. In all three regions we started with individual partners and soon realised that there was a great potential for much larger initiatives. For example, together with local businesses and knowledge providers in our Western Norway project, we sent an application to a national competition for the selection of Centres of Expertise. The application to become a National Centre of Expertise on Subsea technology for offshore oil and gas production was one of the six winners in the first round of the competition. This provided important encouragement to local companies and local authorities in Øygarden, Sund and Fjell, and made the sector both nationally and internationally visible.

In Mid-Norway one initiative started with discussions about the potential of biogas from agriculture waste and has now turned into a major project, in which farmers, local authorities and businesses, together with biogas experts, co-operate – and co-generate – in order to turn Ørlandet and Bjugn into one of the first biogas regions in Norway.

Our other project in Mid-Norway is located on the islands of Hitra and Frøya, which are well known for their strong fishing industry. Aquaculture is important for the islands, and now we are starting the next era of aquaculture by studying how to utilise other resources from the sea. We are talking about production of seaweed, algae and other underutilised resources as fish meal, in energy production, cosmetics or in medical applications.

Each region also has a number of smaller projects, and every year we consider approximately nearly 100 initiatives in each of these three regions.

Linking Norway to the rest of Europe

Globalisation and the situation in international markets play important roles in all parts of Norway. In order to be able to reach European markets and find European partners, we use the Enterprise Europe network. In Norway a single network covers the whole country, making it possible to support each region and each company effectively with information about rules and regulations, finding partners, supporting technology transfer and promoting FP7 projects as a tool to make us more competitive.

For European businesses, research institutes and other units looking to Norway, the Enterprise Europe Norway network is the optimal point of contact. Norwegian advisors can help to find suitable Norwegian partners, for example in the fields of renewable energy, environment, food and nutrition, medical technology, aquaculture, ICT and tourism.

We can also answer questions regarding Norway and the EU, which is an area of much confusion since Norway is not a member of the EU. However the main rule is that Norwegian businesses and research institutes are equal partners in nearly all EU calls, programmes, and most European regulations are implemented in Norway.

The services we can provide to companies and other users are based on input from our advisors combined with the extensive use of a wide range of databases linked to the European network. We also perform company missions for companies, and arrange and participate in international match-making events at trade fairs in Europe. All our services are free since this is a European-funded project with national funding from Innovation Norway and the Research Council of Norway.

More information:
Western Norway, Sigmund Kvernes, Sigmund.Kvernes@sintef.no
Mid-Norway Ørlandet-Bjugn, Arnt Ivar Kverndal, Arnt-Ivar.Kverndal@sintef.no
Mid-Norway Hitra – Frøya, Ivar Blikø, Ivar.Bliko@sintef.no
Enterprise Europe Network Norway – Susanna Brynhildsen, Susanna.M.Brynhildsen@sintef.no
www.sintef.com/Home/Technology-and-Society/Innovation-and-Industrialdevelopment/