Promoting Nordic interests and contributing to the Nordic Vision

Through its operations, Nopef aims to contribute to the priorities of the Nordic Vision 2030 and to the specific goals of the business sector action plans. During the year, Nopef further aligned its project activities to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ objectives and action plans for the implementation of the Nordic Vision.  

 

All 37 projects approved for financing in 2021 coincide with one or more of the initiatives in the business sector action plans.

In 2021, Nopef operations increased strongly in the areas for circular economy and sustainable business models (16 projects) as well as for sustainable ocean economy (8 projects). Nopef also granted funding for sustainable construction (4 projects), green transport (3 projects), life science and health technology (3 projects), and smart connectivity (2 projects). Activities related to digitisation, AI and data (1 project) decreased significantly compared with the previous year.

 

It should be noted that many projects overlap with more than one of the priority areas. In that case, the categorisation has been made according to where the impacts are considered to be the clearest.

of projects

included partners

from multiple Nordic countries

Nopef’s annual customer survey was conducted in the autumn of 2021. The aim was to evaluate the impacts of projects completed three years earlier. According to the results, Nopef funding has a clear positive impact on funded projects and adds value for Nordic companies that have received financing.

 

To support the creation of new Nordic collaborations, networks and solutions, Nopef gives a special priority to projects that include companies and partners from several Nordic countries. Of the applications approved for funding in 2021, 18 projects (49%) included partners from multiple Nordic countries, an increase from 43% in the previous year. This means that a significant number of Nopef-financed projects have the potential to create new Nordic networks and contribute to knowledge transfer between Nordic companies.