Strategic Use Of Public Private Cooperation In The Nordic Region

The Nordic welfare states are facing significant demographic challenges now and in the future. At the same time life expectancy of the citizens is increasing. Thus more senior citizens need to be cared for by still fewer young people of taxable age. This development undermines the financial sustainability of the Nordic welfare state and presents a major medium to long-term challenge for the Nordic countries, if the high welfare service levels are to be sustained in the decades to come. One of the solutions to this challenge could be the implementation of new welfare technologies and innovative solutions which can increase efficiency of service providers and deliver more value for money. The aim of the project is to increase knowledge about public-private partnerships in the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, with a focus on the welfare sectors in these countries. Focus is on the following sectors: children and youth, elderly and handicapped, disease prevention, education, treatment and rehabilitation. The overall objective is to increase understanding of approaches, effects and perspectives in the use of public-private partnerships, in particular public-private innovation partnerships. This includes the use of public-private partnerships as a strategic tool for new business development for welfare solutions in the Nordic region.

Til løsning af den offentlige økonomis problemer foreslås en indsats på at skabe mere offentlig-privat partnerskab i velfærdssektoren i Norden. Rapporten bringer erfaringer fra de nordiske lande inden for børn og unge, ældre, handicappede, sygdomsforebyggelse, uddannelse, behandling og rehabilitation.

The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, outlines an ambitious and universal plan of action for people, planet and prosperity as it seeks to strengthen universal peace and freedom. This report presents national and Nordic action on Agenda 2030 with the aim to inform and support the Nordic Council of Ministers in formulating a new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme. All Nordic countries are engaged and strongly committed to implementing Agenda 2030 and there is a broad societal interest in joint Nordic action. The existing Nordic Strategy for Sustainable Development and several other key initiatives within Nordic cooperation already contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030. A new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme can build upon a strong foundation and add further value to the national and international work done by the Nordic countries.

In 2016, the Nordic Cooperation Ministers decided to put more emphasis on economic development in the Arctic within the Arctic Cooperation Program of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers partnered up with the Arctic Economic Council in carrying out an Arctic Business Analysis. The aim was to qualify knowledge on the business environment in the Nordic Arctic and how to take the business environment to a next level. The analysis covers 1) Entrepreneurship and Innovations; 2) Public- Private Partnerships & Business Cooperation; 3) Bio-economy, and 4) Creative and Cultural Industries. The general findings of the analysis are: → a need for an increased collection and dissemination of Arctic specific data; → a need for strengthened cross-border business collaboration between regions and actors in the Arctic; and → a need for a positive branding of the Arctic as an attractive and sustainable market for investments and economic development.

Max Rolfstam examines the increasing emphasis on public procurement as a means to stimulate innovation and the theoretical implications of this policy development. While regular public procurement may be regarded as the outcome of anonymous market processes, public procurement of innovation must be understood as a special case of innovation, where social processes, and consequently the institutions governing these social processes, need to be considered. This book contributes to our understanding with a detailed institutional analysis of the public procurement of innovation. The author draws on an institutional framework that underscores the importance of conducting a multilevel institutional analysis. Unlike earlier studies that reduced public procurement challenges to a legal issue, this book offers insights of more holistic nature. Academics, students and researchers with an interest in innovation policy will find this book to be an informative and fascinating read. It will also provide an invaluable reference tool on how public procurement can be used as an innovation policy tool for policymakers at both national and EU levels.

For a long time, the Nordic countries have been a region of peace, with the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully among themselves, and a region for peace, actively promoting peace globally. Although efforts to actively brand the Nordic region are ongoing, the Nordic Peace brand is an area with untapped potential. The Nordics have rich traditions for working together on peace and conflict resolution. These joint efforts have grown organically and informally from like-mindedness, letting the common Nordic culture and ways of working foster integration among them where relevant. The people working in the Nordic countries on Nordic cooperation and peace recognize the potential of strengthening the Nordic Peace brand. One area of special potential is increasing focus on the shared Nordic priorities of prevention and the women, peace and security agenda as part of the Nordic Peace brand.

Tourism is an important, growing industry in all the Nordic countries, but until recently, it has not had a particularly strong focus within the Nordic cooperation framework. This is changing rapidly, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has given a strong signal that increased emphasis should be placed on tourism issues within the Nordic framework. This project is a result of that important political prioritisation. The key objective of this project is to create a framework on which a Nordic Tourism Strategy can be established. Thus, the desired outcome of the project is to define future strategies and projects that will underscore common opportunities and challenges within Nordic tourism. The objective of a Nordic Tourism Policy Analysis is to provide valuable input to each country's work within tourism as well as laying a foundation for a common Nordic Tourism Policy.

This book examines the bioeconomy concept, analysing the opportunities it can generate, the constraints and the potential benefits for society. The main objective of bioeconomy is to promote economic development, by creating jobs and enhancing the sustainable utilization of bio-resources. A primary driver of bioeconomy strategy, therefore, is the need to respond to the growing population's food and economic requirements. While today research and literature related to bioeconomy are limited, this book presents a unique collection of perspectives on the complex dimensions of the bioeconomy debate. Drawing on the experiences from Europe, Asia and Africa, it presents an international overview. The chapters address a wide range of issues, including coastal-land interactions, ecosystem services, food production, rural development, agriculture, forest management and bioenergy. As a whole, the volume outlines what role bioeconomy can play in contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without compromising on the ecological sustainability and equitable distribution of benefits. The book concludes by providing recommendations for developing bioeconomy in respective sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries, renewable energy) and directions for planning future bioeconomy programmes and strategies. The Bioeconomy Approach will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecological economics, development economics and environmental economics, as well as policy-makers and practitioners involved in sustainable development.