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Nordic City Solutions Nordic Trade Promotion Initiative under Nordic Sustainable Cities Results from Phase 1 - North American Fact-Finding Mission April 24, 2018 Executive Summary The following report concludes Phase 1 of the Nordic City Solutions fact-finding mission to evaluate trade opportunities in seven major markets across North America in the context of a collaborate initiative by the five Nordic Trade Promotion Organizations. The conclusion of this report will guide the beginning of a two-year trade push called Nordic City Solutions, which aims to collaborate with North American cities and local stake- holders to promote Nordic-specific competencies around sustainable urban development with the aim that Nordic companies will be well positioned to secure tender contracts locally in these cities. The six markets which were evaluated in Phase 1 were Ottawa, Ontario; Greater Toronto Area, Ontario; San Francisco Bay Area, California; Houston, Texas; Twin Cities and Rochester, Minnesota; and New York City and Tri-State Area. The evaluations consisted of various stakeholder meetings within each city to determine: What is the local knowledge of the Nordics and Nordic Sustainable Cities as a general theme? What present challenges and future opportunities is their city facing? Are they willing to work with the Nordics on sustainable city solutions? Quantitative data, as well as additional factors which are described in detail in the report content, helped pro- vide a clear and retrospective recommendation for next steps to prioritize the markets of: Houston, Texas Greater Toronto Area (City of Brampton), Ontario Twin Cities and Rochester, Minnesota Ottawa, Ontario Developed by: Authored by: Danish Trade Council, North America Pamela Tiller, Senior Advisor Business Sweden, North America Danish Trade Council, Toronto Innovation Norway, North America e: [email protected] Business Finland, North America t: +1 416 640 7485 Promote Iceland, North America 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Background .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Model ....................................................................................................................................................................5 City ....................................................................................................................................................................6 Themes .............................................................................................................................................................6 Projects .............................................................................................................................................................6 Data ......................................................................................................................................................................7 City Analysis ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Greater Toronto Area, Ontario .............................................................................................................................8 Ottawa, Ontario................................................................................................................................................. 12 San Francisco Bay Area, California .................................................................................................................... 16 Greater Houston Area, Texas ............................................................................................................................ 18 Twin Cities & Rochester, Minnesota .................................................................................................................. 21 New York City & Tri-State Area .......................................................................................................................... 25 Recommended City Markets & Next Steps .................................................................................................. 27 3 Background Nordic Sustainable Cities is one of six flagship projects under the Nordic prime ministers' initiative Nordic So- lutions to Global Challenges, which is coordinated by the Nordic Council of Ministers. This flagship project builds on the success of Nordic Built Cities, which explored the development of innovative solutions for sustainable, smart and livable cities. In 2017, the Nordic prime minister’s initiative, in coordina- tion with grant funder Nordic Innovation, launched the Nordic Sustainable Cities trade promotion initiative with three target markets of focus across the globe: India, China and North America. In December 2017, the North American Trade Promotion organizations of the 5 Nordic countries were success- fully awarded a grant of 4 million NOK to implement a Nordic City Solutions trade promotion platform in North America over two years. The platform development has been divided into two phases: Phase 1 – North American Fact Finding Mission and Trade Promotion Program Development Phase 2 – Trade Promotion Launch, Company Sign-Up, Market Based Activities and Project Tender Execution The following report summarizes Phase 1’s Fact Finding Mission in order to provide guidance to the North American Steering Committee for Trade Promotion Program Development and to launch Phase 2. Overview The following document is a summary of qualitative and quantitative data collected by the project team dur- ing Phase 1 Fact Finding Mission of the trade promotion initiative in target markets across North America from January to April 2018 in: Ottawa, Ontario; Greater Toronto Area, Ontario; San Francisco Bay Area, California; Houston, Texas; Twin Cities and Rochester, Minnesota; and New York City and Tri-State Area. North American project opportunities are frequently based on tacit local knowledge through networks. Often when opportunities are tendered, companies have only a few weeks to prepare a response submission based on the project scope, budget parameters and intricate project details. Knowing when these project tenders are posted is key to a successful tender bid. For most international companies, this 3-4 week timeline is too short to learn about the market, turnaround a precise representation of their specialization in the context of the projects local need; or in some cases to open the bid selection committee’s eyes to a more ‘Nordic Way’ of problem solving that may differ from the North American “business as usual” perspective, resulting in an un- successful bid and lost resources for the bidder. 4 The intent of Nordic City Solutions platform is to get ahead of the curve with respect to specific opportunities in these target markets by building local relationships, collecting nuanced project knowledge, and setting up Nordic companies for a successful opportunity to bid on local tender projects. In order to do this, Nordic City Solutions has undertaken an intensive fact-finding and relationship building mission to previously identified major US and Canadian city markets to understand: What is the local knowledge of the Nordics and Nordic Sustainable Cities as a general theme? What present challenges and future opportunities is their city facing? Are they willing to work with the Nordics on sustainable city solutions? The intent of this report is to provide a recommendation which will guide the Nordic City Solutions North American Steering Committee, in coordination with Nordic Innovation, to make a decision about moving ahead with a focus on activities in 2-3 markets within North America based on the results of the fact finding mission. Methodology Model The fact find mission to North American markets was based on the premise that true market knowledge and understanding of opportunities can only be achieved through first hand knowledge and relationships with local stakeholders. The following model has been applied to evaluate each city region as whole, and guide the discussion for individual meetings between Nordic City Solutions and local stakeholders. City Synergies >Theme (Resiliency/Healthy/Smart) Decision Making Overarching Themes >Projects Master Planning Current Challenges Ongoing & Future Project Service & Procurement Projects Partners Opportunities Future Opportunities Budget Figure 1 - Nordic City Solutions North America Model 5 City The City sits at the top of the model, with four critical aspects evaluated: Synergies - Understanding similar challenges between North American and Nordic cities to help solve problems together. The discussion around building collaborative relationships on a civic-governance level to share knowledge, experiences and ideas between Nordic and North American partners. Decision Making - Using public diplomacy as a tool for collaborating on Nordic-inspired solutions with decision makers. Who are the decision makers in the city?