30 May 2016
Regional Innovation Monitor Plus 2016
Regional Innovation Report North Middle Sweden (Production related biotechnology)
To the European Commission Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Directorate-General Directorate F – Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing
www.technopolis-group.com
Regional Innovation Monitor Plus 2016
Regional Innovation Report North Middle Sweden (Production related biotechnology)
technopolis |group| in cooperation with
Iryna Kristensen and Nelli Mikkola, Nordregio
Table of Contents
1. Advanced Manufacturing: Production related biotechnology 5 1.1 Overview of performance and trends 5 1.2 Business sector perspective 6 1.3 Scientific research potential 7 1.4 Role of intermediary institutions 9 1.5 Developing skills for the future 10 1.6 Major investment projects 11 1.7 International cooperation. 14 1.8 Policy support and delivery mechanisms 15 1.9 Good practice case 18 1.10 Leveraging the existing potential 24 2. Regional Innovation Performance Trends, Governance and Instruments 26 2.1 Recent trends in innovation performance and identified challenges 26 2.2 Institutional framework and set-up 28 2.3 Regional innovation policy mix 28 2.4 Appraisal of regional innovation policies 31 2.5 Policy good practice 33 2.6 Possible future orientations and opportunities 34 Appendix A Bibliography 37 Appendix B Stakeholders consulted 40
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Organisational structure ...... 20
List of Tables
Table 1 Regional innovation support measures ...... 29
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PREFACE In the context of the growth and investment package set out in the Investment Plan of the European Commission, the Regional Innovation Monitor Plus (RIM Plus) provides a unique platform for sharing knowledge and know-how on major innovation and industrial policy trends in some 200 regions across the EU28 Member States. Launched in 2010, the Regional Innovation Monitor aimed at supporting sharing of intelligence on innovation policies across EU regions. Building upon the experience gained and results obtained during the period 2010-2012, the RIM Plus 2013-2014 provided practical guidance to regions on how to use the collected information, via a network of regional experts. Since 2014, the RIM Plus has introduced a thematic focus on advanced manufacturing. The RIM Plus 2015-2016 evolved from a general monitoring of innovation policies towards establishing a more thematic focus in selected areas in order to contribute to improving the competitiveness of European regions. Particularly, the RIM Plus aims through its activities and in close cooperation with the regional stakeholders and other relevant initiatives to: • contribute to the development of new and open spaces of collaboration and exchange on advanced manufacturing, each with a clearly defined thematic focus; • play an enabling role in providing evidence-based information on specific themes and bring in outside perspective from other regions; • map out regional practices in support of advanced manufacturing and relevant pilot/demo projects and work towards involving the relevant stakeholders; • provide an easy access and comparative overview of regional innovation policies and relevant actions in the field of advanced manufacturing; • share the lessons learned with the European Commission services to feed into the preparation of future programmes.
The main aim of the 30 regional reports is to provide a description and analysis of developments in the area advanced manufacturing with a clearly defined thematic focus and regional innovation policy, taking into account the specific context of the region as well as general trends. All regional innovation reports are produced in a standardised way using a common methodological and conceptual framework, in order to allow for horizontal analysis, with a view to preparing the Final EU Regional Innovation Monitor Plus report. European Commission official responsible for the project is Alberto Licciardello ([email protected]). The present report was prepared by Iryna Kristensen ([email protected]) and Nelli Mikkola (Nelli.Mikkola @nordregio.se). The contents and views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the regions or Member States of the European Union, or the European Commission. The copyright of the document belongs to the European Commission. Neither the European Commission, nor any person acting on its behalf, may be held responsible for the use to which information contained in this document may be put, or for any errors which, despite careful preparation and checking, may appear. Further information: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor
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Executive Summary
1. Advanced Manufacturing: Production Related Biotechnology The NUTS 2 region Northern Middle Sweden (Norra Mellansverige) is a sparsely populated region, with approximately 832,810 inhabitants in 2014, consisting of three independent NUTS 3 regions (län): Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg. The regional GDP per capita (2007-2013) was €26,961 million, or about 7.2% of the national total. The region is well endowed with national resources and has traditionally been dominated by capital-intensive export industries – such as pulp and paper, steel and engineering, machinery and transport vehicles – which account for a large share of Swedish exports (about 34%). The value added generated by the manufacturing sector accounted for 16.4% of the regional GDP in 2013. Other important sectors are food processing, ICT and tourism. Global structural changes have resulted in outsourcing, reduced employment and international mergers and acquisitions. The manufacturing sector still constitutes the main source of employment in the region, exhibiting, however, a negative trend. Since 2011, the employment in low- and medium-low-tech manufacturing has declined by 1.4% in the region. In contrast, the share of the regional labour force employed in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors has increased from 2% (2011) to 2.8% (2014). The presence of a strong industrial base (i.e. the forest industry) has provided a solid platform for the transition to the forest-based bioeconomy. The new trends in the manufacturing sector of North Middle Sweden include: recycling of biological raw materials, feedstock, biorefining and especially lignin development (a side product of paper production). The University of Karlstad (Värmland) is an important knowledge source and innovation partner for regional industry, and is actively involved in regional innovation and cluster development. • Challenge 1: To increase internationalisation of cooperation structures The aim of the bioeconomy is to ensure sustainable production and use of natural resources. A cross-sectorial and systematic approach, with a basis in the circular economy, is the main focus area. Programmes, project activities and networking initiatives in the bioeconomy sector are needed in a macro-regional context – initiating, catalysing and facilitating activities to realise bioeconomy not just in North Middle Sweden but also in the Nordic Region, the Baltic Sea Region and Europe. • Challenge 2: To incorporate biotechnological skills into vocational education and training Although broad collaboration has been established with academia, the biotechnology cooperation network lacks a clear reference to vocational skills development, which is regarded as a main condition for realising a cross-sectorial and systemic approach to bioeconomy. Sustainable growth of the bioeconomy sector depends on several interlinked factors, of which an important one that still remains to be realised is the supply of vocational specialists trained in subject areas that have been identified by the key stakeholders in the sector. Clear occupational standards need to be developed in North Middle Sweden, followed by the development of industry-relevant qualifications and curricula. The link between the regional labour market and the university and research fields is long established. However, vocational standards and qualifications that respond to the growing demands from a growing bioeconomy industry cluster need to be developed.
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• Challenge 3: To increase the number of technology-focused intermediate institutions During recent decades, Swedish innovation and technology-transfer institutes have indicated a tendency to concentrate in larger urban areas. The lack of regional representation of these intermediaries leaves sparsely populated regions in a disadvantageous position when it comes to promoting the diffusion of R&D results and the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies by local industries. This national trend appears to be turning, but the presence and capacity of technology-focused institutes, for instance, in North Middle Sweden remains insufficient for realising the full potential of regional innovations. Both the cluster organisations and research institutes have a key role to play as policy mechanisms for driving industrial competitiveness. The low number of technology- focused innovation centres holds back efforts to scale up research and innovation into commercial applications. In order to tackle this issue, dialogue and common effort between the national level and the regions is essential. 2. Regional Innovation Performance Trends, Governance and Instruments According to the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) 2014, the North Middle Sweden region is an innovation follower with a RIS index of 0.47, which is slightly above the EU27 average (0.46), exhibiting a positive innovation performance trend, with an average of between 2.5% and 10% in 2008-2014. In 2013, regional business R&D investment constituted €336.01 million, accounting for 1.1% of the regional GDP, which is below the EU28 average (1.29%). The share of business R&D investments constitutes only 14.8% of the regional total for Värmland. It is possible to partly explain this observation by the large number of external headquarters, making the region vulnerable to external decisions. The patent activity1 decreased significantly from 0.53 in 2011 to 0.36 in 20142. Generating patents requires inputs (e.g. investments and physical and human capital) and infrastructure (e.g. laboratories), which tend to be geographically clustered (usually in urban areas). In 2014, R&D personnel and researchers constituted 1.39% of the total employment in the region. Sectorial concentration of industries also has an influence on the concentration of patents, as some sectors (e.g. high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors) have a higher propensity to patent than others (e.g. medium- and low-tech manufacturing). Regional presence of R&D departments of some of the larger firms, such as Stora Enso (Karlstad, Värmland) and ABB (Ludvika, Dalarna), and their interest in applied research, contribute to R&D and innovation activities in the region. 3. Future Actions and Opportunities With regard to Production Related Biotechnology Summarising the analysis, the following tentative future orientations and opportunities may be identified: • Opening up new markets and gaining access to new fields of activities Opening up new markets and gaining access to new fields of activities would enable stakeholders to expand their market base and diversify into new market niches. Firms that cannot compete head-on with industry giants are looking for a market niche that their offering is particularly suited to fulfil. Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis, in conjunction with market research, is an
1 EPO patent applications per billion euro of regional GDP (RIS 2014) 2 Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2014
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effective method for stakeholders to understand their role as a supplier within the industry. As the environment changes, stakeholders will be in a position to capitalise on new market opportunities. • Developing new occupations, standards and qualifications to cover the need for specialists in the field of biotechnology With a strengthened cooperation and interplay with the education system, the stakeholders, opening up new markets and gaining access to new fields of activities, would be able to strengthen sustainable capacity development and steer skills development to areas that match supply and demand for skills. • Ensure a substantial presence and capacity of technology-focused intermediate institutions in the region The technology-focused intermediaries can play a key role in bridging between research and business and may also assume additional roles important to the competitiveness of regional innovation systems in terms of skills development, market diversification, supply chain development, productivity enhancement, etc. With regard to innovation policy North Middle Sweden has an internationally competitive industry sector backed by long-established science-business collaboration and strong cluster organisations with capabilities for development and diversification. The regional innovation system is relatively well functioning but there are still challenges that should be addressed as a part of innovation policies in order to ensure the region’s resilience and competitiveness in the future. Summarising the analysis, the following tentative future orientations and opportunities may be identified: • Continue developing the collaboration between the counties Even if the concept of smart specialisation has not been formally implemented in regional innovation policy in Northern Central Sweden, the need for combining regional specialisation with collaboration between sectors and across the counties has been identified as important for future competitiveness. Intensifying and diversifying collaboration between counties, and combining regional specialisations, is a core element in developing new niches and realising new potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in the intersection of clusters and competence areas. • Continue the development of services-based industries High global competition in the primary sectors has resulted in rationalisation and an increased focus on productivity. To reduce the dependency on capital-intensive export industries, and to broaden the innovation base, support for the development of entrepreneurship and growth in the more human-capital-intensive sectors, such as the service sector, has become increasingly important. In this regard, stimulation of cross- sector collaboration and the development of new sectors, contributing to a broader industry base or innovation with a potential for smart specialisation, play a key role. • Strengthen international collaboration Combining regional specialisation with intense international collaboration is an important factor for future competitiveness and a successful regional smart specialisation strategy. Focus on international exchange of knowledge, resources, technologies and business practices is necessary if the region is to attain the diversity in skills and experience required of a top innovative technology region. The challenges related to strengthening the internationalisation of the region could be addressed through collaboration initiatives in the region’s areas of strength.
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1. Advanced Manufacturing: Production related biotechnology
1.1 Overview of performance and trends In November 2014, North Middle Sweden that comprises three NUTS 3 counties i.e. Gävleborg, Dalarna and Värmland, had a total of 832,810 inhabitants. The largest municipalities are Gävle, Karlstad and Falun, ranging between 98,000 and 57,000 inhabitants. The average gross domestic product (GDP) during the period 2007-2013 was €26.961 million or about 7.2% of the national total3. North Middle Sweden faces challenges such as low population growth, relatively low education level and lower wages and employment rate compared to the national average.4 The region is well endowed with national resources and has traditionally been dominated by capital-intensive export industries – such as pulp and paper, steel and engineering, machinery and transport vehicles – which account for a large share of Swedish exports (about 34%). There are several large multinationals in the traditional sectors of pulp and paper (Stora Enso, Moelven, BTG, Kvaerner Pulping, Valmet and Metso Paper), steel and engineering (SSAB, Sandvik and Outokumpu) and automation and power technologies (ABB). The value added generated by the manufacturing sector accounted for 16.4% of regional GDP in 2013. Other important sectors are food processing, ICT and tourism. Since the 1990s, there has been an ongoing structural change in the traditional business sectors. Global competition has created a pressure for increased productivity, resulting in outsourcing, reduced employment and international mergers and acquisitions. The manufacturing sector still constitutes the main source of employment in the region, exhibiting, however, a negative trend. Since 2011, the employment in low- and medium-low-tech manufacturing has declined by 1.4% in the region. In contrast, the share of the regional labour force employed in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors has increased from 2% (2011) to 2.8% (2014). The structural changes in traditional sectors have resulted in increased attention towards other sectors, such as services, ICT and tourism. North Middle Sweden has developed a strong ICT sector with a well-developed ICT infrastructure, and employment in the ICT sector has increased rapidly. Still, the average share of employment in high-tech industries and knowledge-intensive services is below the national average. The tourism sector in North Middle Sweden has developed well over recent years, with attractive tourism areas in Dalarna, for example. However, tourism companies in North Middle Sweden are relatively small, and employment in the regional services sector is still below the national average. The impact of the recent economic crises varies between the three counties, due to their different industry structure. At NUTS 3 level, the unemployment rates in 2009 were higher than the EU27 average in Gävleborg and Värmland (10.1 and 9.5%, respectively), which could be explained by a high dependence on traditional exports industries. Dalarna, with a more fragmented industry structure and many small
3 Statistics Sweden: www. scb.se 4 The lack of sufficient cross-border data between Sweden and Norway needs to be taken into consideration when observing data from North Middle Sweden. The region is located along the Norwegian border and a substantial part of especially region Värmland’s population works in Norway and crosses the Swedish- Norwegian border on daily basis. Regular national statistical data of Värmland’s municipalities show a distorted picture, as the interaction with neighbouring Norway is not being taken into account. In the regular register data of Statistics Sweden, commuters to neighbouring countries are not included. This results in incorrect information (i.e. underestimations) regarding employment (for both day- and night population), incomes and salaries for the population of Värmland.
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tourism companies, was less affected and the unemployment level (8.5%) was slightly below the EU27 average. A strong forestry base has also paved way for the development of forest-based bioeconomy and biotechnology in the region. Trends in production in North Middle Sweden include an increased focus on recycling of biological raw materials, feedstocks, biorefining and, in particular, lignin development (a side product of paper production). During the 2000s the regional trend indicates an increased devotion towards further technological development, innovations and bioeconomy development. A strong nation-wide decline in performance can be observed for venture capital investments in Sweden (-14%)5. Consequently, business start-up rates are low in North Middle Sweden, which curbs the conditions for a dynamic economy and job creation. For years now, Karlstad University has undertaken cooperative research with industry in paper, pulp and printing technology, as well as on materials and chemical engineering. These research activities are being developed further, based on the – regionally supported – idea that these industrial sectors can form the crucial base for regional innovative clusters. The dominant instrument for regional innovation in North Middle Sweden has been the support of clusters and innovation systems. During the last decade, the three counties have used cluster policies as an integrated part of regional development, as a way of assuring critical mass in terms of funding and competence development in sectors of regional importance. To broaden the innovation base and create opportunities for increased entrepreneurship, several initiatives have been undertaken to support not only traditional industry sectors, but also new service- based sectors. Today, there are 15 prioritised cluster organisations on the NUTS 3 level, representing about 700 companies and 60,000 employees. According to the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) 2014, North Middle Sweden is an innovation follower with a RIS index of 0.47 (the EU27 average is 0.46). The annual business R&D expenditure is below the EU average, since many of the large companies located in North Middle Sweden are part of multinational groups. During the period 2008-2014 the region has experienced a decrease in patent activity (EPO patent applications per billion euro of regional GDP) from 0.53 in 2011 to 0.36 in 2014.
1.2 Business sector perspective Business in North Middle Sweden has traditionally been dominated by capital- intensive sectors, such as pulp and paper, steel and engineering, machinery and transport vehicles. These sectors account for a large share of Swedish exports. The share of gross value added (GVA) generated by manufacturing industry, agriculture, forestry and the energy sector in the region is above the national average. From the 1990s onwards, there has been an ongoing structural change in North Middle Sweden’s traditional business sectors. Global competition has created a pressure for increased productivity, resulting in outsourcing, reduced employment and international mergers and acquisitions in the region. Since these sectors are sensitive to global demand, the impact of the economic crisis between 2008 and 2009 was relatively hard, particularly in the counties of Värmland and Gävleborg. Between 2007 and 2012, the biggest negative growth in the North Middle Sweden region was experienced within steel and metal industries as well as in paper and pulp industries. The fastest growth was seen in the service sector. However,
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in spite of the importance of tourism in Dalarna, employment in the services sector is below the national average. The large multinational paper, pulp and steel companies in the region, such as Stora Enso (pulp and paper), SSAB (steel manufacturing), Valmet (technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries) and Metso Paper (pulp), are global leaders, targeting international mass markets. When considering developments in the field of advanced manufacturing, North Middle Sweden has global leverage especially in steel and forestry-based industries. Whereas the large-scale industries in North Middle Sweden have their focus on the mass market, the SME base is targeting customised markets. North Middle Sweden forms a rather unique operational environment on the national scale as the region has many complete value chains in place locally and it hosts many sub- contractors for the steel and paper and pulp industry. Thus it can be stated that the business service infrastructure around the dominant regional industries is relatively well developed, ranging from basic services to knowledge-intensive, often technological, consulting services. These SMEs usually deliver services to multiple industries, making them important knowledge carriers in the region, acquiring a role both as tier 2 and tier 3 actors. The annual business R&D expenditure is below the EU average, since many of the large companies located in North Middle Sweden are part of multinational groups. This also makes the region vulnerable to external decisions taken at company headquarters elsewhere. Simultaneously, Sweden as a whole has experienced a strong decline in performance for venture capital investments (-14%). (Innovation Scoreboard 2015) The start- up of new businesses is low as well, which inhibits the conditions for a dynamic economy and job creation and creating alternatives for jobs in the traditional industries. When comparing the increase in the number of registrations of start-up companies between years 2013 and 2014, the national number for Sweden for the period was 3%, according to statistics from Bolagsverket, the Swedish Companies Registration Office. In North Middle Sweden, the registration of start-up companies increased by 7.2% in the county of Dalarna, whereas the percentages for Värmland and Gävleborg were 3% and -3% respectively. An overall structural problem for business development in advanced manufacturing is the gender-segregated labour market of North Middle Sweden. The manufacturing sector and export industries are clearly male-dominated, and one of the regional challenges is to develop a labour market that is attractive for women as well as men.
1.3 Scientific research potential In North Middle Sweden, there is one university, Karlstad University (Värmland) and two university colleges, in Dalarna and Gävleborg. The share of the population aged 25-64 with completed tertiary education, ranging between 17% (Gävleborg) and 20% (Värmland) is below the national average of 25%. In 2014, R&D personnel and researchers constituted 1.39% of the total employment in the region. In North Middle Sweden, an important resource for regional innovation and industry development is Karlstad University, which engages in close cooperation with the regional business community. The focus of the two university colleges in Dalarna and Gävleborg has been more on general education and competence development, e.g. through distance education. Their involvement in regional innovation and cluster development has been more limited. For years, Karlstad University (KaU) has undertaken cooperative research with industry in paper, pulp and printing technology, as well as on materials and chemical engineering. These research activities are being developed further, based on the regionally supported idea that these industrial sectors can form the crucial base for
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regional innovative clusters. Karlstad University is also one of four partners in the Four Leaf Clover (Fyrklövern), one of eight nationally initiated innovation offices. With support from the innovation office and regional cluster organisations in commercialising research results, KaU is a crucial regional component for innovation and the development of advanced manufacturing technologies in the North Middle Sweden region. However, one of the concerns regarding KaU’s capacity to support regional innovation is the Swedish national funding of the academic system. Today, Swedish research policy prioritises funding of traditional research based on scientific publications and citations; therefore, to secure funding most researchers do not consider collaboration with society as a merit. This system rewards larger research universities, while small universities such as Karlstad University have difficulty competing for national funding and researchers. KaU’s Master of Science in Engineering programme has a broad curricular base and regional industrial partners contribute to the education in the form of guest lectures, field trips, internships and degree projects. Research is carried out in close association with industry. KaU’s Master’s programme in Service Management has evolved from the extensive research pursued at KaU’s Service Research Centre (CTF) into a multidisciplinary environment supporting the development of services-based sectors with an ambition to broaden the bases for regional innovation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness. KaU’s competitive advantage lies in resource knowledge, especially in forest resources throughout entire industrial value chains. KaU has been able to adjust and diversify its education and training schemes according to the needs of industries and regional businesses. Biotechnology has been increasingly on the education and research agenda of KaU, alongside renewable materials and product properties. In 2014, KaU prioritised five strong research environments in which the university is considered to have an especially strong competence, including Service Research and Materials Science, which have clear links to the advanced manufacturing sector in North Middle Sweden. Simultaneously, KaU runs an industrial PhD programme and has – in collaboration with Region Värmland, the County Council and the County Administrative Board of Värmland – established and financed new professorships at KaU with strong connections to regional industries and clusters. As concrete recent examples of KaU’s capacity in developing advanced manufacturing technologies and enhancing the regional skills base, the following could be mentioned:
• KAU’s Industrial Graduate School ‘Values Created in Fibre-Based Processes and Products’ (VIPP) is a graduate school established at Karlstad University in 2011 in conjunction with the Knowledge Foundation6 and 14 companies in the field. The purpose of VIPP is to strengthen the university’s research environments and provide professional development to industry, as well as to promote closer cooperation between these actors. VIPP’s vision is a unified research environment where PhD students have the opportunity to reflect on process and manufacturing, the environment, energy and sustainable development, and value creation and consumer perspectives. VIPP has assumed a strong project focus on bioeconomy. VIPP’s project portfolio for the year 2015 included for instance a project on tissue drying – High air humidity and potential improvement in tissue mill heat economy in collaboration with Valmet AB; Systems analysis on biorefineries together with Pöyry Sweden AB; and a joint project with Stora Enso Group R&D on food packaging barriers from renewable sources.
6 The Knowledge Foundation is the research funding organisation for universities with the task of strengthening Sweden's competitiveness. The Foundation supports research that is conducted at Sweden's new universities, provided that it involves cooperation with industry.
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• In the field of sustainable barrier technology, in 2015, KaU worked on a piloting project led by UMV Coating Systems AB, innovating on multiple barrier coating. The project has received funding from VINNOVA, the national Swedish innovation agency and also the cluster organisation The Paper Province has been included in the initiative. As a result of the joint pilot project, UMV performed the first successful trial in the pilot plant in Säffle in Värmland. After successful trials and the rebuilding of the Pilot line, which will be ready in December 2015, UMV can offer customers the possibility to run barrier trials. By using the UMV set-up for sustainable barrier coating, the capital cost can be reduced to a fraction of that of competing technologies.
1.4 Role of intermediary institutions The role of intermediary institutions in promoting the diffusion of R&D results and the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies by local industries in the North Middle Sweden region has been a very important one. They have been the key actors in filling the gap existing between the scientific research and facilitating the commercialisation of research results. In North Middle Sweden, this intermediary role is assumed both by the cluster organisations and different innovation offices and incubators.
The Swedish government has implemented a number of different measures to support innovation and entrepreneurship within or in close collaboration with higher education institutions. Several initiatives have also been taken on the national level to initiate systems innovation and services innovation, e.g. through the establishment of business incubators such as INOVA and InnoWent. As a part of the government’s Research and Innovation proposition, in 2010 KAU was one of the eight universities in Sweden to receive funding for developing innovation offices. The Four Leaf Clover is one of these innovation offices, established and run in collaboration between Karlstad University and three other universities in Central Sweden (Linnaeus University, Mid Sweden University and Örebro University). The main goal of the office is to enhance commercialisation of research results through inter-regional collaboration, ultimately serving as a motor in the regional innovation systems. According to data from 2015, the Four Leaf Clover pools together 80,000 students, 1,300 PhD students, 5,600 employees, 450 professors and €17 million in R&D budget. Innovation Park in Karlstad operates in the form of an economic association characterised by collaboration and efforts to optimise the use of common regional resources. The Innovation Park also aims to create opportunities for interaction between research and entrepreneurship to establish contacts in the shared networks locally, nationally and globally. The Innovation Park was established through collaboration between KaU, the municipality of Karlstad, Region Värmland and Värmland County Council. There are several well-established cluster initiatives related to traditional and up- coming business sectors in North Middle Sweden aimed at enhancing interaction between different branches and competences. In the area of advanced manufacturing and biotechnology, several cluster organisations play a role as intermediates between business and science. Some of the core clusters and their relevant projects in the field are presented below. To support the development of advanced steel products, an initiative for development of a cluster organisation was taken by the Swedish Steel Producers’ Association. Today, Triple Steelix consists of large steel producing companies and manufacturers of mechanical equipment for metal forming and industrial IT, as well as about 200 small and medium-sized companies, working with steel, engineering and services. It is supported by 13 municipalities in the counties of Dalarna, Gävleborg and Västmanland. Other actors involved are the University College of Dalarna, MIKRAB (research institute), IUC Dalarna (industrial development centre), Falun and
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Borlänge, Teknikdalen Foundation (business support) and regional authorities. Triple Steelix was awarded €6 million for a 10-year period 2004-2014 from the national VINNOVA call on regional innovation systems (VINNVÄXT). An additional €10 million in basic funding for the period, excluding separate project funding, was granted from EU Structural Funds and Region Dalarna. In addition to the actors listed above based in the region, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Chalmers are important partners in ongoing RD&I projects. The project Future Factory, within the framework of the cluster organisation The Paper Province (TPP), was initiated in 2007 as a cooperation project between the university, industry and public sector. The first phase of the project was carried out during 2007-2008 and the second phase in 2009-2010, with co-funding from the ERDF. The objective was to identify and develop strategic business sectors related to pulp and paper, for example on energy efficiency, environmental issues, packaging and ICT. One key result was the establishment of Energy Square. Today, Energy Square is a separate project within TPP, having the objective of facilitating the development and commercialisation of new products and services for energy efficiency in pulp and paper. Also another important initiative was a spin-off from TPP, The Packaging Arena, focusing on consumer needs and packaging design. In 2013, the Swedish Innovation Agency VINNOVA’s Vinnväxt Programme granted a three-year project to the Paper Province. The goal of Paper Province 2.0 project is to be a leading European centre of competence for forest bioeconomy within 10 years, by developing a large-scale demonstration where a systemic approach and utilisation is central. Both the cluster organisations and innovative institutes have played a key role in building bridges between university laboratories and the volume production of the industries in North Middle Sweden. However, the number and capacity of technology-oriented intermediate institutions in the region is relatively low, taking into consideration the volume and capacity of regional industries. With regards to the limited absorptive capacity of SMEs, especially in sparsely populated regions like North Middle Sweden, the intermediate institutions perform a significant function in filling in the gap between research and business. Simultaneously, technology- focused intermediate institutions have the capacity to house pilot projects and larger EU projects, for example, which in turn leaves more capacity for universities to fulfil their mandate in education and academic excellence. These institutions may also assume additional roles important to the competitiveness of regional innovation systems in terms of skills development, market diversification, supply chain development, productivity enhancement, etc.
1.5 Developing skills for the future North Middle Sweden faces certain challenges in improving access to relevant competencies in the field of advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. These challenges are related to attracting expertise from outside as well as developing expertise in the region. On a general level, the demographic development in the region leads to certain challenges in terms of an ageing population, limited population growth and out-migration. This trajectory might increase the problem in the future. Matching the needs of regional industries and the skills produced at the regional level is a salient issue for the North Middle Sweden region. Companies in the region are experiencing problems in recruiting personnel in the field of engineering and IT, for instance, which is a general problem in Sweden. In order to tackle the issue, the counties of North Middle Sweden have engaged in competence mapping, as well as matching skills and labour market needs, and have funded initiatives focused on skills upgrading in order to strengthen industrial innovation in various areas of expertise. The regional priorities of advanced manufacturing are integrated with education and training policies in the sense that there is an ongoing dialogue, and different forms of collaboration with the regional education institutions, and the regional higher education institutes are represented in the boards of the prioritised cluster organisations (for instance the university college Dalarna in Triple Steelix and KaU in The Paper Province).
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However, one of the core components missing for the establishment a systemic regional approach to biotechnology is vocational training. In order to ensure the regional competitiveness in advanced manufacturing and bioeconomy-based industries, training of vocational specialists is essential. Occupational standards for bioeconomy-focused professionals should be developed in consultation with the actors in the industry to assure the relevance of the degree. Based on this, industry-relevant qualifications and curricula could be developed and implemented to reinforce the growing bioeconomy industry cluster of North Middle Sweden. Through the long-standing academia-business collaboration, Karlstad University has been able to adjust and diversify its education and training schemes according to the needs of industries and regional businesses. With an increased regional focus on bioeconomy, the subject has been increasingly on the education and research agenda of KaU, alongside renewable materials and product properties. The future skills development in the region is also devoted to addressing the regional need to develop the service sector and KaU’s focus ranges from the sole technological aspects to covering also services and the wider system of sustainability linked to renewables and biotechnology. On a practical level, students from KaU are involved in collaborations with regional businesses and industries from an early stage onwards. This type of skills development for professional competences takes the form of internships, dissertation collaborations and graduate schools. By these means, the strong technical knowledge required in the fields of advanced manufacturing and biotechnology can be sufficiently complemented with commercial and service-related experience. In addition, the innovation and technology transfer offices and cluster organisations in North Middle Sweden have supported the development of competence in specific sectors and provided training and knowledge upgrading related to novel technologies and materials.
1.6 Major investment projects The regional focus on advanced manufacturing and biotechnology development in North Middle Sweden is also reflected in investment projects in the region. Many of the large-scale investment projects are publicly co-funded. The scope of different investment categories is rather wide, consisting of pilot and demonstration projects, industrial investments, international collaborations and capacity-building measures.
• In the field of bio-based economy, lignin – a by-product of pulp production – is increasingly seen as a raw material with great potential. Lignin could be a green alternative for producing fuels and energy, as well as chemicals and lightweight materials. Efforts are being made to develop processes and to refine different lignin qualities. LignoBoost is one of the technologies available for the development of biorefinery concepts. Owned and operated by a subsidiary to Innventia, LignoBoost Demo AB – with support from Fortum Värme, Nordic Paper, Stora Enso, Södra Cell and the Swedish Energy Agency – the LignoBoost demonstration plant has been in operation next to the Bäckhammar pulp and paper mill in the Värmland region since January 2007. The demonstration plant was established with the aim of proving the LignoBoost process concept on a near- commercial scale. There is a daily production of high-quality lignin in the plant. In collaboration with Metso, Innventia carries out assignments for clients wishing to evaluate their own black liquor or the lignin product from it. It is also possible to perform large-scale product and process development at the LignoBoost Demo plant. Since 2008, the LignoBoost technology has been owned and commercialised by Valmet. With financial support mainly from VINNOVA, Innventia’s demonstration plant in Bäckhammar will be further developed and made into an open test bed for companies who want to evaluate and validate new refining concepts in the lignin area while enabling cost sharing for
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companies on Bäckhammars mill. The purpose of this LignoCity test bed is to create a centre where ideas are brought together and opportunities for commercial development are identified and supported. The project involves 18 industrial and public players.
• The Värmland region has recently seen several investments directed to biofuel- related projects, and future plans include large-scale regional production of biofuels. Pilot projects supporting this ambition are ongoing on several fronts. Kicked off by the installation of Europe’s first permanent tank facility for bio-jet- fuel that was installed at Karlstad Airport in 2014, the region now foresees multiple opportunities within the area of biofuels backed by the regions strong forest industry and sufficient production volumes. As a follow-up project in bio-jet-fuels, Innventia is coordinating the Lignojet research collaboration, which aims to establish lignin as a raw material in bio- based aviation fuel. The Swedish-Brazilian project is co-funded by VINNOVA will run until December 2016, bringing together players throughout the entire value chain. In addition to Innventia, the Brazilian pulp producer Fibria, Karlstad Airport, LignoBoost Demo, Valmet and SP Process Development are also involved. One of the project’s aims is to establish a roadmap for introducing lignin-based aviation fuel in Brazil and Värmland. The largest single investment in the history of the municipality of Karlstad happened in 2012, when Karlstad Energy invested in a new biofuel-based cogeneration plant with a final cost of €97 million. The power plant was inaugurated in March 2015 with a production capacity of approximately 365 TWh of district heating and about 165 GWh of electricity annually. The majority of the fuel is produced from residues of the regional forest industry.
• BillerudKorsnäs is a leading supplier of renewable fibre-based packaging materials and solutions with two of its production units based in Gruvön and Gävle in North Middle Sweden. Within liquid packaging board and other virgin fibre carton board, the company is one of the world leaders. As the global demand for these types of boards is increasing, BillerudKorsnäs in 2015 announced that the company is investigating the possibility of installing a new board machine at the production unit in Gruvön. The investment price is estimated at €430- 530 million. The investigation is a part of BillerudKorsnäs strategy for volume growth within business area Consumer Boards and it is also in line with the strategies for the business areas Containerboard and Packaging Paper. The machine would become one of the most cost-efficient in the world with a capacity of approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of liquid packaging board, carton board, food service board and white kraftliner. The decision by the company is anticipated in 2016.
• With regard to pilot projects and commercialisation in the field of advanced manufacturing, UMV Coating Systems AB initiated in 2014 a pilot project in the field of sustainable barrier technology in a pilot plant in Säffle in Värmland, innovating on multiple barrier coating in cooperation with KaU. Co- funded by VINNOVA and cluster organisation The Paper Province, the set up developed by UMV is now available for fossil-fuel-free customer trials with the additional potential for capital costs reductions. (For more information, see section 1.3 in this report.)
• Co-financed by the Interreg V-A Sweden-Norway programme, the project IMTRIS (Wood-based innovation in the Inner Scandinavian region) will create
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applied research and knowledge creation on a cross-border basis between Sweden and Norway during 2015-2018. The overall objective of IMTRIS is to undertake joint cross-border R&D efforts for sustainable regional growth in the border region. This is done by creating new quality-assured research-based knowledge based on the main natural resource for the regional bioeconomy in their border region – wood. IMTRIS has the following thematic R&D areas: wood-based products and services; packaging development; design and functions for sustainable development; and forest-industry-related processes and systems. The project efforts include developing expertise in business support, further development of established communication channels and partnerships between academia, industry and the public sector. Moreover, the project strives to promote the circulation of new knowledge across the border, which can further enhance product and service innovation. Partners in the project include: Paper Province, Tretorget, Construction Dialog Dalarna, Kunnskapsbyen Lillestrøm, Torsby Träcenter, Karlstad Innovation Park, Karlstad University, Dalarna University, University College of Oslo and Akershus, University College Hedmark University College in Gjøvik and researchers from OCAD University in Canada. The total budget of the project is €1.7 million, of which €811,oo comprises EU support and Norwegian funding.
• In the field of investments towards capacity building and internationalisation in bioeconomy, a potentially significant seed-money project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers has been running with a Nordic-Baltic consortium including The Paper Province, Region Värmland, Nordregio, HAMK University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Forssa Region Development Centre ltd (Finland), Envor Group (Finland), Aalborg University (Denmark), Estonian Forest Industry Association (Estonia), Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Estonia), Stockholm Environment Institute in Tallinn (Estonia). Created as a spin-off from a VINNVÄXT project, the core aim of the project has been to develop cross- cutting stakeholder involvement for realising the bioeconomy.
• As a part of the regional efforts to develop the bioeconomy sector in Värmland, the Paper Province, Region Värmland and KAU have co-financed a research project looking into the societal context of bioeconomy and innovation systems. Instead of focusing on the traditional triple-helix model of regional innovation, ‘Switching to the bioeconomy, smart specialisation and quadruple helix 2015’ project has studied and analysed the social context and civil society's role and importance in the innovation system, with a focus on knowledge society and democracy.
• In the field on education and skills development, the Industrial Graduate School ‘Values Created in Fibre-Based Processes and Products’ (VIPP) is a major recent publicly co-funded project. Established at Karlstad University in 2011 in conjunction with the Knowledge Foundation and 14 companies in the field, the purpose of VIPP is to strengthen the university’s research environments and provide professional development to industry as well as to promote closer cooperation between these actors. VIPP has assumed a strong project focus in bioeconomy. For instance, VIPP’s project portfolio for year 2015 included: a project on tissue drying, ‘High air humidity and potential improvement in tissue mill heat economy’, in collaboration with Valmet AB; ‘Systems analysis on biorefineries’, together with Pöyry Sweden AB; and a joint project with Stora Enso Group R&D on food packaging barriers from renewable sources.
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Within the framework of the agreement signed between Region Värmland and Karlstad University, 10 new professorships with strong ties to the regional economy and clusters have been set up at KAU. The aspiration is to strengthen projects and research capacity at the University with an emphasis on regional development. The objective of such agreements is to increase cooperation between universities, industry, leadership and education in the region. The cooperation will contribute to the building of strong research environments at Karlstad University with a focus on research that created value in areas important for Värmland’s future development. Over time, this may increase the potential for external research funding, strengthening the regional businesses as well as the academic sector. The project is financed and managed jointly by KaU, Region Värmland, County Council and the County Administrative Board of Värmland. According to the agreement, Region Värmland provided a yearly amount of €1 million over five years, €5 million in total, with a matching co-funding from Karlstad University. Another €5 million was gathered from public research funding and private companies, resulting in a total of about €15 million over five years.
1.7 International cooperation. Allowing for increased research funding for the bioeconomy under Horizon 2020, along with a stronger innovation drive and reinforced policy interaction, actors in North Middle Sweden recently participated in a number of Horizon 2020 projects. Two of the most significant international cooperation projects related to bioeconomy are:
• ABEIS 2015-2016: in 2014 together with the Norwegian forest cluster Tretorget AS, Innovation Network for Biomass/INBIOM (DK) and Tarvaala Bioeconomy Campus/JAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI), Paper Province started a BSR Stars Innovation Express7 project called ‘Accelerating Bio-economy Innovation for SMEs’ to boost SMEs innovations through cross-cluster and cross-sectorial networking at an international level8. The project helps the cluster identify new SME stakeholders and to create value for these together with the existing critical mass. The Danish Cluster INBIOM (Innovation Network for Biomass) has a high level of expertise, but traditionally biomass has mainly been used for bioenergy production. Its involvement in the project provides the opportunity to share knowledge and solutions from a broader bioeconomy (agriculture) creating new beneficial cooperation and transfer of mutually applicable technologies. Four clusters involved are complementary (wood/mechanical; pulp/paper; bioenergy and agriculture) offering synergetic interactions between stakeholders. New markets will open up both from the demand side and the transfer of mutually applicable technologies. The expected added value of the activities are: understanding new international market segments, including a new perspective of bioeconomy; learning how to communicate the benefits of green technology from a bioeconomy perspective and also enhancing the strength of working in a region with a strong bioeconomy profile; offering product and services to a wider market; and learning about new needs that will help SMEs to develop new products and services and facilitate cross-sectorial innovation.
7 Innovation Express 2014. 8 BSR innovation express application
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• MISICS 2013-2014: Paper Province, Tarvaala Bioeconomy Campus/JAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI) and Tretorget AS collaborated on the project ‘More innovation from SME with inter-cluster strategy and RDI projects’9 to establish a mutual platform for information on RDI projects, market training and job opportunities from the extended regions. Within the framework of this project, the participating actors worked together to increase the social capital between nations by establishing a mutual platform for information/knowledge exchange, sharing information on RDI projects and developing joint projects and market training.
North Middle Sweden also benefits from a large amount of EU projects that are distributed through targeted EU support on the national and regional level, participation in EU internal programs such as the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, and the European Regional Development Fund (e.g. Interreg IVC) and through participation in thematic cluster projects together with other European regions. Several gender networks were established in which companies are driving the development of more equal workplaces while the number of women in decision making bodies is increasing (e.g. Winnet 8).
1.8 Policy support and delivery mechanisms The development of advanced manufacturing is mentioned specifically as a strategic priority in a few regional innovation strategies in North Middle Sweden:
• Värmland's Regional Strategy 2014-2020 (Värmlandsstrategin 2014- 202010) identifies the forest industry as a priority sector. Bioeconomy plays an increasing role, through R&D activities concerning renewable resources, to support the transition process. This focus is in line with the new EU forestry strategy. The ‘Research and Innovation Strategy – Smart Specialization 2015-2020’11 provides Värmland with a distinct profile in forest-based bioeconomy and advanced manufacturing and supports all the key groups in Värmland, Sweden and abroad in value-creating services (horizontal specialisation) and five vertical specialisations: forest-based bioeconomy, advanced manufacturing and complex systems, digitalisation of welfare services, nature, culture and the area’s digitalisation experiences, as well as systems solutions with solar power.
• The Innovation Strategy for Gävleborg 2014-202012, in line with the smart specialisation strategy, strongly highlights the importance of prioritising the development areas. Gävleborg has a long-established practice of maintaining and keeping up some of the world-leading steel and forest industry manufacturers, such as Sandvik, Ovaco and hundreds of small and medium-sized suppliers and subcontractors. It also supports cluster organisations such as Triple Steelix in their work with the steel industry and its supply chain in order to provide research and development for successful products and services. The region's strengths, however, should be reinforced and actions should be well focused on the essential development areas.
9 Memorandum of Understanding: Inter-cluster Cooperation Strategy. 2013 10Värmlandsstrategin 2014-2020 11 Värmlands forsknings- och innovationsstrategi – för smart specialisering 2015-2020. 12 En Innovationsstrategi för Gävleborg 2014-2020.
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• The Dalastrategy 202013 stresses the significance of creating and supporting innovative environments and a powerful entrepreneurial spirit. The Strategy points towards supporting advanced industrial collaborative networks, such as Triple Steelix, in the field of metallic materials. Dalarna should, through international collaborative networking and an increased innovation capacity in the steel and engineering sectors, continue to develop specialised products and services that assist in solving current and future social challenges. Dalarna has, generally speaking, focused on three areas: Metallic materials, which includes Triple Steelix and the Clean Production Centre; Innovative Event Production (travel and tourism industry, trade, culture and creative industries); and Energy Efficient Society (power transmission, traffic, and construction). All three areas may potentially be further developed into open innovation environments enhancing research, innovation and international collaboration.
A large part of collaboration is organised through the cluster organisations, particularly at Karlstad University, as well as to an increasing extent also at the University Colleges of Dalarna and Gävle, which are considered important mechanisms in the implementation of smart specialisation priorities in North Central Sweden:
• Paper Province 2.0 is a Vinnväxt project with the objective of creating an internationally attractive innovation environment for forest-based bioeconomy. Together with the region's clusters and other private and public research facilities, the Paper Province aims to build a large-scale demonstrator that can show how bioeconomy works in practice14. The funds are used for research, development and commercialisation of new forest products and services, but also to increase efficiency in basic industry and Värmland's innovation system.
• Triple Steelix is a development initiative, partly financed and supported by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova) programme on regional innovation systems, Vinnväxt. Today, Triple Steelix consists of large steel producing companies and manufacturers of mechanical equipment for metal forming and industrial IT, as well as about 200 small and medium-sized companies, working with steel, engineering and services. It is supported by 13 municipalities in the counties of Dalarna, Gävleborg and Västmanland. Other actors involved are the University College of Dalarna, MIKRAB (research institute), IUC Dalarna (industrial development centre), Falun and Borlänge, Teknikdalen Foundation (business support) and regional authorities. The strategic idea of Triple Steelix is to function as an active platform – coordinator and facilitator – to create a dynamic and innovative arena in the region's steel industry. The Triple Steelix Advanced Manufacturing concept is one of three focus areas of the innovation action plan, currently being developed. The Vinnväxt funding has terminated by the end of 2014; new funding has been requested from VINNOVA. Triple Steelix now aims its attention more on expanding the specialisation of the firms as well as integrating value chains, establishing cooperation between SMEs and the larger companies, increasing the focus on RD&I and developing the ambition to take part in Horizon 2020. The Triple Steelix cluster has received continued commitment of all its stakeholders, including increased membership payment from the bigger companies, as well as the inclusion of more regional authorities. A current challenge for Triple Steelix is to facilitate the process of digitalising networks between companies. Such links are developed gradually as part of projects carried out for clients, and new
13 Dalastrategin – Dalarna 2020 14 TPP projektansökan VinnVäxt 2013.
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collaborations between companies are initiated. Triple Steelix has an important function in this regard as a neutral partner supporting the digitalisation of value chains. Triple Steelix was awarded €6 million for a 10-year period 2004-2014, and Paper Province €14 million for the period 2013-2023, from the national VINNOVA call on regional growth through dynamic innovation systems – VINNVÄXT. An additional €10 million in basic funding for the period, excluding separate project funding, was granted to Triple Steelix from EU Structural Funds and Region Dalarna. The cluster initiatives play an important role in strengthening the image of the region as attractive for companies and skilled human resources. They also stimulate an ongoing dialogue between regional stakeholders on regional development issues and support cross- sectorial collaboration (academia, cluster initiatives and public sector). The regional priorities of advanced manufacturing are also embedded with education and training policies, building capacity for research and innovation that is adapted to cluster demands. Triple Steelix has an additional role in strengthening the image of the region as a place that is attractive for companies and skilled human resources to settle down in, through encouraging the larger companies to market the attractiveness of working in the industry to students, and through persuading the smaller firms to dare to hire engineers. Strong focus on smart specialisation and bioeconomy places cluster organisations and higher education institutions of Northern Middle Sweden in a key position to drive regional development. Regional authorities aim to strengthen research cooperation with the universities in order to foster academics for smart growth areas. One example is the project ‘Adaptation to bio-economy, smart specialisation and quadruple helix’15, a project in progress, co-financed by Karlstad University through the Centre for Research on Region Building, CRS, Region Värmland and Vinnova through the Vinnväxt initiative ‘Paper Province 2.0’. The project aims to enhance the knowledge and significance of civil society – in terms of users, voluntary organisations and trade unions – in the process of adapting to bioeconomy and to a sustainable society. By including civil society this initiative can thus be seen as a broadening of the previous regional cooperation system of the university-industry-government triple- helix concept into a quadruple-helix relationship. Several initiatives have been taken to strengthen and sharpen business profiles of regional entrepreneurs as well as to facilitate their capacity to absorb new knowledge and technologies to support the transition to a bioeconomy, in cooperation with business incubators and other actors working with business development issues, e.g. INOVA, Almi, Drivhuset, etc. In addition, an initiative has recently been undertaken by Innventia, Nordic Paper and Paper Province to establish an open test bed, called LignoCity16, to further support transition to bio-based economy. Regional policy makers have benefitted from the organisation of peer review and training seminars for regions, such as a thematic Peer-Review Workshop on RIS3 Governance hosted by the Centru region of Romania, on 27-28 May 2015. Annual Reporting to the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications (Näringsdepartementet) has been carried out in order to meet the requirements for national supervision on policy measure implementation17. In general, the chosen policy strategies and support mechanisms seem to fit well into the broader picture of the EU Horizon 2020 goals as well as into the ‘SIA – national Research and Innovation Strategy for a Bio-Economy’. Additionally, they supplement other existing regional policies, e.g. the cluster strategy 2013-2017, which aimed at increasing international competitiveness of regional clusters, and the European Regional
15 http://www.kau.se/en/centre-for-research-on-region-building/research/projects 16 http://www.innventia.com/en/About-us/News1/LignoCity--a-new-centre-for-new-green-technologies/ 17 Värmlands forsknings- och innovationsstrategi – för smart specialisering
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Development Fund (ERDF) Programme 2014-2020 for North Middle Sweden, focusing especially on the promotion of innovation and low-carbon solutions.
1.9 Good practice case The industrial history of the Värmland region has been strongly affected by the rich supply of natural resources. Early achievements in forest exploitation provided an impetus for establishing a unique local knowledge base. The pulp and paper industry in Värmland — including forest companies and sawmills — totals 200 companies, with around 12,000 employees. 18 Pulp and paper manufacturing, consisting predominately of small and medium-sized companies and multinationals, heavily dominates the area. The region hosts major machinery and process system suppliers such as Metso, Andritz, GL&V, Voith and BTG, as well as technology and IT consultants such as ÅF, Pöyry, Citec KPA, Sogeti and Tieto. There are also paper mills and packaging production units operated by Stora Enso, Billerud, Rottneros, Nordic Paper, Tetra Pak and Mondi, alongside with an extensive network of suppliers and contractors. At the end of the 1990s the pulp and paper industry was facing severe structural challenges. This prompted seven companies, together with Karlstad Municipality and other public bodies to join forces in meeting competence challenges by establishing the cluster organisation ‘The Paper Province’19 in 1999. In 2003, The Paper Province was reorganised into an economic association with more than 20 member companies. Today, Paper Province is a unique business cluster of forest-industry companies spread across the counties of Örebro, Värmland and northern Dalsland. The cluster organisation is owned and operated by more than 100 member companies ranging from global giants to local suppliers that represent the entire value chain and the surrounding services sector covering first and second tier suppliers providing products and services to the big pulp and paper producers. In addition to the member companies, the Paper Province has joined forces with a variety of partners to retain and enhance the competitiveness of the pulp and paper industry including universities and a variety of public actors i.e. municipalities, Region Värmland, VINNOVA and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket). Initially, the cluster activities were concentrated primarily on marketing the pulp and paper industry and competence provision addressing the need to improve the supply of qualified workforce in the area. Many initiatives were ventured to attract students to various programmes and to develop capacity-building solutions according to company specifications, often in close cooperation with Karlstad University and Karlstad Municipality. Over time, the activities of The Paper Province have broadened and by 2002, 25 member companies jointly owned the organisation. Before long, more targeted plans for the cluster were developed, including strategies for project development and regional growth. In 2004, the Paper Province started The Packaging Greenhouse AB20 – an industrial research and development company engaged with base paper for packaging. The reason behind these activities is to create a meeting place, enhance cooperation between the pulp and paper cluster and the University of Karlstad and attract new companies to the region. This has culminated in new investments in the region totalling approximately €200 million, 300 new jobs and significant research projects within the Seventh Framework Programme21. The Paper Province is one of the initiators of the project ‘the Packaging Arena’ – an innovative environment for consumer-driven packaging development. Supported by governmental funds in connection with the closure of a local military regiment, in 2007 the Energy Square, the world's first international centre for energy
18 Region Värmland (2013b) 19 http://paperprovince.com/en/om-oss/paper-province-historia/ 20 http://www.thepackaginggreenhouse.com/ 21 Bjurulf and Vedung (2009)
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efficiency was formed in the pulp and paper industry with the aim to simplify the process for developing new products and services that reduce energy consumption within the global pulp and paper industry. The Energy Square has a strong international appeal and cooperates with, among others, the China National Pulp & Paper Research Institute (CNPPRI). The unique clustering of competence in the region has attracted all major machine and process suppliers within the global pulp and paper industry to establish some presence in the area. As a result, the membership numbers of the Paper Province have expanded dramatically, now encompassing 80 member companies. Between 2003 and 2009, the turnover of The Paper Province increased from about €0.25 million to €0.85 million. Part of the funding is made up from yearly membership fees. Since 2007, the share of EU-funding has increased to approximately 50% of turnover22. In 2007, Paper Province was appointed as one of the “Top European Clusters in High Innovation Regions” and as a European world-class cluster in 2010. A big operational shift happened in 2013, when the Paper Province won a national competition called ‘VINNVÄXT – Regional Growth through Dynamic Innovation Systems’ and received the award of €14 million from VINNOVA, the Swedish Innovation Agency. To comply with the requirements of VINNOVA, the Paper Province switched from traditional pulp and paper operations to a bioeconomy approach, “aiming to become a competence leader in Europe and a best practice example of the forest-based bio-economy on a global scale”. This is expected to be achieved by developing a large-scale demonstrator emphasising utilisation and a systemic approach.23 From a service perspective, the goal is to realise and industrialise new products and services based on new value chains within the forestry sector, as well as within other sectors. Furthermore, the Paper Province 2.0 is to set the stage for 1,000 new jobs and 25 new businesses during one decade24. The realisation process incorporates three approaches: 1) evaluation of traditional mills and sawmills with existing infrastructure and side- streams with development potential; 2) application of a systemic approach to develop new and existing services and processes linking forest production units and other actors in the region; 3) information gathering on market needs and global challenges, as well as new ways of developing innovations by involving knowledge and people, for example via Living Labs25. In this context, SMEs play an important role by contributing new ideas, which are the driving force of productivity and innovation.
22https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor/organisation/paper- province-tpp 23 Vinnova (2014) 24https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor/support-measure/e-paper- province-20-large-scale-testbed-forest-based-bioeconomy 25 Vinnova. (2014)
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The Vinnväxt Paper Province 2.0 project is organised in the following way (see Figure 1 below): Figure 1: Organisational structure26
The Reference Group (Referensgrupp) consists of academics and experienced company representatives to support the project consulting, assessment of technical solutions, process, etc. The Reference Group has regular contact with and provides members to the Steering Committee, the Innovation Council and the Project Group. The Steering Committee (Styrgrupp) is ultimately responsible for the initiative/project and is appointed by the Paper Province board. It interacts closely with the Innovation Council, the Project Group and the Gender Council. The Innovation Council (Innovationsråd) consists of representatives from industry, incubators, Almi27 and Karlstad University and it makes the decisions regarding project proposals based on defined standards and criteria. In the Council on Gender (Genusråd) the representatives from the County Administrative Board, Karlstad University, Region Värmland and cluster organisations work together to bring in a gender perspective into the innovation system and are responsible for the preparation of a detailed action plan for gender work. Finally, the Project Team (Projektgrupp) is an operational unit dealing with project-related activities. It consists of the director and project manager from the Paper Province, frontier workers from Karlstad University, and representatives from the clusters Compare and Steel and Engineering. Over the next 10 years, the VINNVÄXT funds will be used to support research, development and commercialisation of new products and services in a regional forest based bioeconomy and to increase efficiency in basic industry and Värmland’s innovation system. The initiative is co-funded with 50% through a triple-helix partnership of Paper Province member companies; Region Värmland; Länstyrelsen Värmland (the County Administrative Board of Värmland); local authorities; Skogsstyrelsen (the Swedish Forest Agency); Karlstad University. The other 50% of the funding comes from VINNOVA (the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) – the VINNVÄXT Programme. Although many of Paper Province member companies are competitors, the long-term outlook of VINNVÄXT funding supports the establishment of a fruitful multi-stakeholder dialogue which is essential in developing future-looking strategies that support the transition to a bioeconomy approach. The presence of a variety of stakeholders creates the necessary knowledge dynamics within the cluster that are catalytic to development and innovation. The key actors within the Paper Province cluster group include, among others, Region Värmland, which has
26 TPP projektansökan Vinnväxt 2013.
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played an important role in promoting and strengthening collaborative linkages between the cluster member companies and the University of Karlstad. Furthermore, Region Värmland assisted in defining the cluster focus areas and was among the initiators of the project ‘The Packaging Arena’ in the Paper Province in 2004. Karlstad University is another important player within the Paper Province cluster contributing with researchers from the Faculty of Health, Nature and Technology and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Grants and Innovation Office is part of the innovation council that has been established under the programme Paper Province 2.028. Cooperation between businesses and Karlstad University has boosted competitiveness, which in turn prompts results in new and improved products, leading to hands-on growth effects such as higher sales and more jobs. The cluster member companies (another group of key actors) are each world leaders in packaging material and packaging solutions, specialty paper, cardboard, paper and pulp and tissue machines, coating machines and barriers. Today there are several global players present in the region: Stora Enso29 Skoghall mill is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wood and paper on global markets. Valmet Paper30 focuses on paper machines for tissue production and more than 200 tissue lines were delivered worldwide. SOMAS31 is the market leader in control valve R&D, delivering most valves to the pulp and paper industry but also other industries that require metal seated valves in stainless steel material. BTG32 is another example of a company that has grown as a result of working with a challenging environment of local customers, both pulp and paper producers. BTG supplies world-leading industry- leading technologies for the global pulp and paper industry, e.g. rods and beds for film-metering size presses, high-performance ceramic and cermet coating blades, high-performance tissue creping doctors and doctor holders, specialty doctor blades, and pulp and paper process control sensors and laboratory instruments. The majority of cluster members are SMEs, although large companies represent the largest share of employees and turnover, and Paper Province depends largely on their network and competence (providing facilities for testing, contributing with in-house R&D competences, etc.). All large companies are active on the global scale, implying that staying competitive and continue going up in the value chain is a key issue for them. Their focus on innovation and productivity is catalytic for SMEs’ internationalisation and growth since many SMEs still remain as local service providers. There are a number of strong consulting companies within the cluster, e.g. Sweco and Pöyry, which are important in knowledge diffusion and creating essential innovation dynamics in the cluster. The main activity areas of the cluster organisation are to foster innovation cooperation, networking, internationalisation, knowledge transfer and marketing. As in many peripheral regions across Europe, insufficient levels of absorptive capacity in SMEs is a critical issue in Värmland – even among the key cluster group members that are clearly more dynamic than ‘average’ businesses. To help address this, one of the cluster groups – the Paper Province – developed an initiative for their members known as the ‘borrow a professor for a day’33 scheme which was aimed at breaking down the barriers between academia and business, and has proved to be quite successful. Such cluster activities are particularly relevant for SMEs since being a part of a dynamic cluster helps them to cope with innovation and global business opportunities without being restricted by limited resources (test facilities, etc.).
28http://www.kau.se/research/grants-and-innovation-office/forskningssamverkan/regionalt- samarbete/paper-province-20 29 http://renewablepackaging.storaenso.com/about-us 30 http://www.valmet.com/about-us/ 31 http://www.somas.se/somas-valves/somas-saffle.asp 32 http://www.btg.com/en/company/profile/ 33 http://paperprovince.com/en/innovation-and-development/lana-en-professor/
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Through participation in the Paper Province most of the member companies work effectively with Karlstad University, which has access to measuring equipment as well as other types of equipment needed to analyse and test a multitude of parameters. Service Research Centre (CTF) at Karlstad University is a world leader in the field of service management and value creation through service, which is an important element in the transition to a forest bioeconomy. Strong development of the CTF has been catalytic to the recent establishment of a service innovation and research centre at the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in Karlstad. SP is the largest research institute in Sweden, delivering high-quality input in all parts of the innovation chain, and focuses on six major business areas: energy, environment, transportation, life sciences, information and communication technologies, and risk and safety. The uniqueness of the Paper Province is partly due to the fact that it connects all parts of the forest value chain with the university, public organisations and civil society in search for new bio-based solutions thereby creating a meeting and learning platform for all cluster stakeholders. Through a variety of marketing activities – e.g. paper makers’ nights, hotspots, lunch meetings etc. – Paper Province both facilitates networking within the cluster group and beyond and creates a profile for the region of Värmland. Furthermore, Paper Province incorporates a sustainability perspective in its strategy development. Despite significant decrease in paper production worldwide, Värmland was not affected by this negative trend. The Paper Province managed to adjust to ongoing global change and create complexity by opening up to energy, biorefinery, ICT, packaging, process technology and cleantech sectors, in addition to the core of the cluster they are related to and work closely with. Finally, there is a common vision and a common understanding among stakeholders when it comes to regional development. Consensus is an important driver for achieving business objectives. With businesses active along the entire value chain, the Paper Province provides benefits that boost both development and results. Independent surveys show that the PP member companies for the past six years have had a three-times-higher growth rate than the county as a whole and a profitability that is 6.8% higher than that of the average Swedish company34. Over the past decade the cluster has initiated a series of projects and initiatives that have contributed to the development of the global pulp and paper industry and led to new products and services with higher added value than before. To give an example, in 2014 a unique press to dewater woodchip was manufactured through cooperation between the innovator Stefan Sobota, Etteplan AB, CS production in Säffle (Sweden). The press can save large amounts of energy in several industrial fields. In Swedish sawmill and bioenergy production alone it may reduce energy consumption corresponding to that required for the heating of 25,000 detached houses and in the transport sector it could reduce the volume of biofuel transportation by two thirds. Conventional drying techniques require large amounts of energy, but the new press can remove almost half of the water before drying. This means that sawmills with pellets production can save energy corresponding to six large wind power units, or the heating of 3,500 detached houses (55 GWh/year)35. The patented press has been pilot-tested by researchers from Karlstad University for a period of one year. The project is now at the commercialisation stage where the Paper Province cluster organisation will play an active role. The next step is to build a full- scale machine ready for operation in sawmills. In 2014, the Paper Province organised the Warm Water Innovation Challenge – an innovation contest to generate ideas around what can be done with the warm wastewater from forest industry production plants. 36 Cellcomb AB37 in Säffle, which is a cluster member in Paper Province, has
34 Paper Province (2015) 35 Paper Province(2014) 36 Region Värmland (2013a)
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recently installed a new production line – cellulose-based products. The company develops and manufactures environmentally friendly disposable laminate products for environments where there are high demands on hygiene, comfort and safety. A cellulose-based food pad that is placed at the bottom of juice packages, preventing meat-juice from leaking out in the package, is one of these products. UMV Coating System AB38 is about to crack the code of how to coat papers and cardboard with fossil-free barriers. It creates the opportunity to produce food packaging that is 100% made up of materials from biological materials – breaking new ground in food packaging, since until now barriers have been made of plastic or metal. Paper Province helped the company apply for development funds from Vinnova, The Swedish Innovation Agency, and to write and disseminate press releases about the project, which has given them public attention in Sweden and internationally. A large number of projects and collaborative networks have been established, both nationally and internationally, including those that take part in Horizon 2020. In 2014 together with the Norwegian forest cluster Tretorget AS, Innovation Network for Biomass/INBIOM (DK) and Tarvaala Bioeconomy Campus/JAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI), Paper Province started a BSR Stars Innovation Express project called ‘Accelerating Bio-economy Innovation for SMEs’ (ABEIS)39 to boost SMEs’ innovations through cross-cluster and cross-sectorial networking at an international level.40The project helps the cluster identify new SME stakeholders and to create value to these together with the existing critical mass. The involvement of INBIOM provides the opportunity to share knowledge and solutions from a broader bioeconomy perspective (agriculture), creating new beneficial cooperation and transfer of mutually applicable technologies. Four clusters involved are complementary (wood/mechanical; pulp/paper; bioenergy and agriculture) offering synergetic interactions between stakeholders. In 2013 Paper Province, Tarvaala Bioeconomy Campus/JAMK University of Applied Sciences (FI) and Tretorget AS had already collaborated on the project ‘More innovation from SMEs with inter-cluster strategy and RDI projects’ (MISICS)41 to establish a mutual platform for information on RDI projects, market training and job opportunities from the extended regions. Several gender networks have been established in which companies are driving the development on more equal workplaces while the number of women in decision making bodies is increasing. The focus of the Paper Province is currently on the added value from side and waste streams, developed through the interplay between actors with streams and companies that have created interesting solutions. Plenty of feedstock has been produced from forests in the region for more than 100 years, which has been processed by a solid infrastructure of companies. The pulp mills separate lignin – an attractive raw material used for value-added product development – from the chips. The Innventia Institute has developed a technique for processing high-quality lignin from the black liquor and has a demonstration plant named LignoBoost located in the Bäckhammar mill, which produces 8,000 tonnes of lignin. The Paper Province case highlights the following lessons to be learnt: • By mobilising knowledge capability and critical mass across all segments, multidisciplinary and cross-sectorial research expands the limits of the existing technologies and generates new activities in the supply chains. As supply chains cover more than one company, one central issue is how to collect and
37 http://paperprovince.com/en/med_type/cellcomb/ 38 http://www.umv.com/no_cache/news/news-reader/article/promising-pilot-run-for-future-fossil-free- barrier.html 39 BSR innovation express application, IE2014-0044 40 BSR innovation express application, IE2014-0044 41 Memorandum of Understanding: Inter-cluster Cooperation Strategy. 2013
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analyse data across the whole or relevant parts of the supply chain covering all segments. • University-industry cooperation as a systemic approach and collaborative activity is an important driving force for innovation and bioeconomy transition as it helps to establish a broader business and labour market for better economic stability, increase the scope of choices and contribute towards increased development dynamics. • Productively sharing and imparting knowledge forms a solid basis for setting up collaboration consensus, leading to successful multi-actor and multi-sector cooperation. It is essential that the cluster organisation builds consensus between all stakeholders in order to develop the necessary appropriate standardisation objectives, and avoid constricting technical stipulations and individual cluster members’ pursuit of their own innovation strategies. • An institutional set-up of regional innovation systems is a prerequisite for successful bioeconomy cooperation. Relevant actors, an institutional set-up of capacity building, innovation culture and inter-firm relationships all contribute to the success of bioeconomy cooperation structures.
1.10 Leveraging the existing potential In North Middle Sweden, regional programmes have focused on innovation activities within identified growth domains, ranging from process industries, such as forestry, paper and steel, to tourism and ICT. Through international collaborations and increasing innovation capacity in prioritised growth sectors, North Middle Sweden should continue to develop specialised products and services that help to solve current and future societal challenges. The following challenges have been identified and tentative future opportunities suggested within the framework of this report:
• Challenge 1: To increase internationalisation of cooperation structures The internationalisation activities of a network or cluster and of its members can happen more or less by coincidence. It can also be controlled purposefully by becoming firmly embedded into the strategy of the network/ cluster. Through a number of projects and programmes of financial assistance networks and clusters have been and are still being implemented in many European countries. This is often done without fundamental analyses of demand or a more accurate knowledge of the needs of the target group. The aim of bioeconomy is a sustainable production and use of natural resources. A cross-sectorial and systematic approach, with a basis in circular economy, is the main focus. Programmes, project activities and networking initiatives in the bioeconomy sector are needed in a macro-regional context — initiating, catalysing and facilitating activities to realise bioeconomy not just in North Middle Sweden but also in the Nordic Region, the Baltic Sea Region and Europe.
• Challenge 2: To incorporate biotechnological skills into vocational education and training Although wide collaboration has been established with academia, the biotechnology cooperation network lacks a clear reference to vocational skills development, which is regarded as a main condition for realising a cross-sectorial and systemic approach to bioeconomy. Sustainable growth of the bioeconomy sector depends on several interlinked factors, of which one important one that still remains to be realised is that of vocational specialists trained within subject areas that have been identified by the key stakeholders in the sector. Clear occupational standards need to be developed in North Middle Sweden, followed by the development of industry-relevant qualifications
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and curricula. The link with the university and research fields are long established, however vocational standards and qualifications need to be developed that respond to the growing demands from a growing bioeconomy industry cluster.
• Challenge 3: To increase the number of technology-focused intermediate institutions During recent decades, Swedish innovation and technology transfer institutes have indicated a tendency to concentrate in larger urban areas. The lack of regional representation of these intermediaries has complicated the situation in sparsely populated regions, leaving them in a disadvantageous situation in promoting the diffusion of R&D results and the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies by local industries. This national trend appears to be turning, but the presence and capacity of technology-focused institutes in North Middle Sweden remains insufficient for the realisation of the full potential of regional innovations. Both the cluster organisations and innovative institutes have a key role to play as policy mechanisms for driving industrial competitiveness. A low number of technology-focused innovation centres holds back efforts to scale up research and innovation into commercial applications. In order to tackle this issue, dialogue and common efforts between the national level and the regions is essential. Summarising the analysis, the following tentative future orientations and opportunities may be identified: • Opening up new markets and gaining access to new fields of activities in order to enable stakeholders to expand their market base and diversify into new market niches. Those firms that cannot compete head-on with industry giants are looking for a market niche that their offering is particularly suited to fulfil. Conducting a comprehensive competitive analysis in conjunction with market research is an effective method for stakeholders to understand their role as a supplier within the industry. As the environment changes, stakeholders will be in a position to capitalise on new market opportunities. • Develop new occupations and standards and qualifications to cover industries’ need for specialists in this field. With a solid cooperation and interplay with the world of education, the stakeholders opening up new markets and gaining access to new fields of activities are able to drive sustainable capacity development and steer skills development to areas that match supply and demand for skills. • Ensure a substantial presence and capacity of technology-focused intermediate institutions in the region. They play a key role in bridging research and business and may also assume additional roles important to the competitiveness of regional innovation systems in terms of skills development, market diversification, supply chain development, productivity enhancement, etc.
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2. Regional Innovation Performance Trends, Governance and Instruments
2.1 Recent trends in innovation performance and identified challenges Looking at the recent performance in innovation and the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) 2014, North Middle Sweden is an innovation follower with an RIS index of 0.47 (the EU27 average is 0.46), exhibiting a positive innovation performance trend with an average of between 2.5% and 10% in 2008-2014. The region has experienced an increase in SMEs innovating in-house from 0.37 in 2011 to 0.73 in 2014 as well as in innovative SMEs collaborating with others from 0.49 to 0.55. In the same period, public R&D expenditures decreased from 0.25 to 0.19. Similarly, business R&D has dropped from 0.54 to 0.37; non-R&D innovation expenditure remained unchanged (o.43)42. In 2013, regional business R&D investment constituted €336.01 million, accounting for 1.1% of regional GDP, which is below EU28 average (1.29%). The share of the population aged 25-64 with completed tertiary education, ranging between 17% (Gävleborg) and 20% (Värmland) is below national average (25%). In 2014, R&D personnel and researchers constitute 1.39% of the total employment in the region. Of the regional total business R&D investments, the share of Värmland constitutes only 14.8%. This observation can be partially explained by the large number of companies with headquarters outside the region, making it vulnerable to external decisions. This trend shows that local companies have a good ability to innovate by addressing technologies and innovations that have already been developed elsewhere and less by developing new product and process innovations themselves. This also indicates weak in-house innovative capabilities that result in sourcing information from suppliers and competitors and innovating through non-R&D activities. During the period 2011-2014, North Middle Sweden has experienced a decrease in patent activity (EPO patent application per billion regional GDP) from 0.53 to 0.3643. As for 2014, Värmland (29) displayed the largest (absolute) number of patent applications compared to Dalarna (21) and Gävleborg (17)44. Generating patents requires inputs (e.g. investments and physical and human capital) and infrastructure (e.g. laboratories), which tend to be geographically clustered (usually urban areas). Sectorial concentration of industries also has an influence on the concentration of patents, as some sectors (e.g. high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors) have a higher propensity to patent than others (e.g. medium- and low-tech manufacturing). Regional presence of R&D departments of some of the larger firms, such as Stora Enso (Karlstad, Värmland) and ABB (Ludvika, Dalarna), and their interest in applied research, contribute to R&D and innovation activities in the region. In 2011, hardly 1% of all high-tech patents (national total) were received from the region; one quarter (5.97) of all national patent applications in textile and paper were received from North Middle Sweden. Overall conditions for achieving innovation in the region are excellent; however the ratio is low when it comes to capabilities as in case of Värmland. The region has a well- developed innovation system but has a rather weak output, mainly due to several factors, such as the education level of the region, a unilateral business community and a low proportion of entrepreneurs to carry the knowledge and expertise into the market in the form of new goods and services. The conditions for creating a dynamic
42 The indicators used in the Regional Innovation Scoreboard: SMEs innovating in-house as percentage of SMEs; innovative SMEs collaborating with others as percentage of SMEs; public R&D expenditures; business R&D as percentage of GDP; non-R&D innovation expenditure as percentage of turnover (RIS 2012, 2014). 43 Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2014 44 Swedish Patent and Registration Office https://www.prv.se/
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business community and new jobs are inhibited by the low number of new business start-ups in the region. Companies in Värmland have a good capacity for creating innovation, due to relatively low overhead costs related to research and development (other R&D costs are high) and because they can rely on technologies and innovations which have already been developed elsewhere, and to a lesser degree rely on developing entirely new product and process innovations themselves45. Innovation capacity needs to be encouraged, within specialised knowledge-intensive companies in particular and regional industries more generally. This can be achieved through strengthening access to skills and knowledge, different types of venture capital, and networks and collaborations at different levels.
• Challenge 1: to extend regional labour market and broaden industry base To reduce the present dependency on a few capital-intensive export industries, a great challenge of the region is to stimulate innovation that leads to new jobs and business development. During the last decade, a cluster policy framework has been implemented, to support the development of prioritised clusters in the region. However, to avoid path dependence and lock-in effects, it is necessary to support not only the dominant industry sectors, but to stimulate cross-sector collaboration and development of new sectors, contributing to a broader industry base for innovation with a potential for smart specialisation.
• Challenge 2: to increase share of employees in the service sector Over the last years, the level of employment in the region has been lower than the average in the EU27. Global competition has resulted in rationalisation and increased productivity, reducing the possibilities for employment. It has therefore become increasingly important to support the development of entrepreneurship and growth in the more human-resource-intensive sectors, such as the services sector. Still, the level of employment in high tech and knowledge-intensive services sectors in the region is lower than the national average. There is also a need to increase employment in other service sectors, e.g. tourism, creative sectors and health care.
• Challenge 3: to increase R&D intensity in SMEs The low R&D intensity in SMEs in the region tends to be related to limited resources in terms of finance and skills available for the companies. Lack of venture capital is one of the determinants discouraging R&D activities in SMEs as the opportunity for cost and risk sharing is not in place. Simultaneously, the limited absorptive capacity of SMEs affects their abilities to commercialise research results. Insufficient presence of technology-focused intermediate institutions, such as technology transfer offices, is one of the impeding factors in this regard. SMEs’ low R&D intensity in North Middle Sweden can also be explained by the fact that the SMEs in the region are engaged primarily in traditional manufacturing and not in new, innovative developments that require large investments. In order to increase the research capacity in the companies, strengthening and developing open research and innovation platforms (test beds, lab environments) where companies and particularly SMEs can develop products and services in collaboration with universities and colleges is an important
45 Värmlands forsknings- och innovationsstrategi – för smart specialisering 2015-2020
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measure. Moreover, the alignment of applied research conducted at universities and colleges to business needs and development opportunities is crucial.
2.2 Institutional framework and set-up The innovation support structure in each county i.e. Dalarna, Värmland and Gävleborg consists of a variety of organisations and measures, including cluster organisations, regional financial and advisory services on business development, business incubators and higher education institutions. The level of collaboration on innovation between the different actors, however, varies between the three NUTS 3 regions. In Värmland, regional commitment to innovation has evolved over the last decade and there is a well-developed collaboration between Region Värmland, the County Administrative Board, Karlstad University and regionally prioritised cluster organisations. The role and responsibility of different actors has been mapped. In Gävleborg, a collaborative process was initiated to identify relevant actors for innovation and business development and develop a regional innovation strategy, presented in May 2011. In Dalarna, no innovation strategy has been developed, but focus has been on increased coordination between innovation and business support actors, e.g. by developing a regional Advisory Board for cluster development. Since it gained university status in 1999, Karlstad University has become an increasingly important resource for innovation and collaboration, particularly in Värmland, collaborating closely with the regional business community in several of its research areas. It is part of a cross-regional innovation office, focusing on commercialisation. There are also the two university colleges of Falun/Borlänge and Gävle. To increase the regional level of education, efforts have been made to develop distance education. There is also collaboration with external researchers, e.g. at Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Chalmers in Gothenburg. There are several large multinationals in the traditional sectors of pulp and paper (Stora Enso, Moelven, BTG, Kvaerner Pulping and Metso Paper), steel and engineering (SSAB, Sandvik and Outokumpu) and ABB (with a new regional High Voltage/Direct Current-laboratory). The average annual business expenditure on research and development (R&D) during the period 2000-2008 was 1.1%, well below the national average of 2.8%. One explanation for this is the large number of external headquarters, making the region vulnerable to external decisions. The innovation support structure in each county consists of a variety of organisations and measures, including cluster organisations, regional financial and advisory services on business development, business incubators and higher education institutions. Since it gained university status in 1999, Karlstad University has become an increasingly important resource for innovation and collaboration, particularly in Värmland. Today, the university is in close cooperation with the regional business community in several of its research areas, often through the regional cluster organisations. Karlstad University is also one of four partners in the Four Leaf Clover (Fyrklövern), one of eight nationally initiated innovation offices. In the region, there are also the two university colleges of Dalarna and Gävle, but their focus has been more on general education and competence development, e.g. through distance education, and their involvement in regional innovation and cluster development has been more limited. Several initiatives have also been taken to initiate systems innovation and services innovation, e.g. through the establishment of business incubator such as INOVA and InnoWent.
2.3 Regional innovation policy mix Given that the formal governance structure of North Middle Sweden is weakly integrated, there is no specific innovation strategy or policy to coordinate the support of research and innovation at the NUTS 2 level. In the last few years, much work has been done in the region to develop the innovation system, sharpen specialisation and enhance overall innovativeness, which is well summarised in Värmland’s ‘Research and Innovation Strategy – Smart Specialization 2015-2020’, the Innovation Strategy for Gävleborg 2014-2020 and the Dalastrategy 2020. In addition, all three counties –
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Värmland, Gävleborg and Dalarna – are members of the EU platform for Smart Specialisation Strategies, which has headquarters based in Seville, Spain. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme has considerably contributed to the development of innovation platforms in the region. The current ERDF Programme for investments in growth and jobs in Northern Central Sweden for the period 2014-2020, with the budget of €147 million, aims at sustainable growth through a concentrated set of interventions to not only promote entrepreneurship and SMEs but also innovation, digital accessibility and low-carbon solutions. Based on experience from previous programme periods, the programme was formulated considering both the aspirations of the Europe 2020 strategy and local challenges and opportunities. The Programme identifies four areas of intervention that should contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and stimulate synergy creation. Within priority 1 the focus is placed on facilitating innovation, research and technological development. The purpose is to strengthen existing clusters but also support innovation processes in a wider range of industries that might improve innovation performance of local companies. Priority 2 addresses the need to increase access to ICT as well as to improve its quality. The purpose of priority 3 is to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs. Finally, priority 4 focuses on providing support in transition to a low-carbon economy in all economic sectors. According to the managing authority Tillväxtverket’s decision on distribution of EU structural funds in North Middle Sweden, the following innovation-related projects have been initiated under the Structural Fund Framework 2014-2020 (see Table 1). Table 1 Regional innovation support measures Title Duration Policy Budget Organisation More priorities responsible information CLIP 3.0 2015-2017 1.3. Research €2.2 University of http://www.hig.se/ Innovative infrastructures million Gävle Ext/Sv/Organisatio environments n/Akademier/Akad for sustainable 2.2. Mobility emin-for-teknik- logistics and between och- innovative academia miljo/Avdelningar/ production and business Avdelningen-for- industriell- 4.5. utveckling-IT-och- Knowledge samhallsbyggnad/I transfer and ndustriell- cooperation ekonomi/CLIP.html between firms (incl. technology acquisition) Destination 2015-2017 4.3. Fostering €900,000 Region Dalarna http://www.regiond Dalarna — start-ups and alarna.se/wp- innovation gazelles content/uploads/20 service 14/04/Projektarend development, 4.5. en_DIR_20150327. phase II Knowledge pdf transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
5.1. Cluster Development
Climate 2015-2018 2.1. R&D €1.3 The Paper http://paperprovinc innovation cooperation million Province e.com/news_type/p projects economic aper-province- between association beviljas-nya- academy and miljoner-for-att-
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Title Duration Policy Budget Organisation More priorities responsible information industry starka- skogsindustrin/ 4.5. Knowledge transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
5.1. Cluster Development Excellent 2014-2017 2.2. Mobility €1.2 Byggdialog http://www.byggdia Building Region between million Dalarna logdalarna.se/User academia and Files/Dokument/Ex business cellentBuildingRegi onvers3.pdf 4.5. Knowledge transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
5.1. Cluster Development
Sustainable IT 2014-2020 2.4. €2.3 Sandvikens http://www.sandba Demonstratio million municipality ckapark.com/Projek n t/Find-IT projects, prototypes and proofs of concepts
4.5. Knowledge transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
2.1. R&D cooperation projects between academia and industry Dala Sports 2015-2017 2.2. Mobility €1.9 Dalarna http://www.regionv Academy – between million University armland.se/wp- from idea to academia content/uploads/20 health and business 15/06/Ärende-9- innovation e.pdf 4.5. Knowledge transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
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Title Duration Policy Budget Organisation More priorities responsible information 5.1. Cluster Development Innovation Park 2015-2017 2.1. R&D €970,000 Karlstad http://www.karlsta cooperation Innovation Park dinnovationpark.se projects economic / between association academia and industry
2.2. Mobility between academia and business
4.5.Knowledge transfer and cooperation between firms (incl. technology acquisition)
2.4 Appraisal of regional innovation policies The implementation of a smart specialisation policy framework in North Middle Sweden (at NUTS 3 level) provides an interesting opportunity to address the main challenges of the region namely to extend regional labour market and broaden the industry base, to increase the share of employees in the service sector and to increase R&D intensity in SMEs. Värmland’s ‘Research and Innovation Strategy – Smart Specialization 2015-2020’, the Innovation Strategy for Gävleborg 2014-2020 and the Dalastrategy 2020 incorporate the new smart specialisation agenda and differ in their emphasis and design from previous regional innovation policies. They prioritise some technologies, fields and population of firms in a vertical logic and define a method to identify such desirable areas for innovation policy intervention. The biggest challenge in the strategies is to reduce the present dependency on a few capital-intensive export industries and to stimulate innovation that expands the local labour market and broadens the industry base. The instrument to overcome this challenge has been a cluster policy framework, which has been implemented over the last decade to support the development of prioritised clusters in the region. However, to avoid path dependence and lock-in effects, support to the development of specific niches in the intersection between established and new sectors is necessary, through broadening the industry base for innovation. In North Middle Sweden, the development of new activities builds upon existing regional strengths while expanding the knowledge base towards new fields such as bio-applications. For instance in Värmland, regional authorities are able to improve the operational efficiency of the pulp and paper industry by placing the focus only on the activities involving the development of bio-based solutions for the pulp and paper industry without involving the whole traditional sector. One example of a collaboration project in the innovation area of smart specialisation is Climate innovation46 initiated by the Paper Province (economic association) aimed at increasing cooperation for innovation and development along the value chain. The project will increase efficiency and profitability, as well as the level of innovation, in the primary sector, while placing the development focus on sustainable and climate- smart solutions.
46http://paperprovince.com/news_type/paper-province-beviljas-nya-miljoner-for-att-starka skogsindustrin/
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High global competition in the primary sectors has resulted in rationalisation and an increased focus on productivity. Support to the development of entrepreneurship and growth in the more human-capital-intensive sectors, such as the service sector, has become increasingly important in order to increase future possibilities for employment. As a result, various policy measures have been applied in order to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in the services sector, including university research, establishment of new cluster organisations and incubators, regional investment funds and an innovation office at Karlstad University. Several initiatives, such as knowledge-intensive services, creative industries, health care and tourism, have a specific focus on the development of the services sector. As an example, Destination Dalarna – innovation service development phase II47 is part of Dalarna Destination cluster activities aiming at developing an innovative growth environment for companies in the tourism sector by marketing Dalarna on Swedish and international markets. The initiative runs demand-driven joint development projects for Dalarna, which contributes towards developing the tourist industry and thus increases the competitive strength of the region. SMEs’ R&D intensity is low in North Middle Sweden, which can be explained by the fact that the SMEs in the region are engaged primarily in traditional manufacturing and not in new, innovative developments that require large investments. In order to increase the research capacity in the companies, strengthening and developing open research and innovation platforms (test beds, lab environments), where companies and particularly SMEs can develop products and services in collaboration with universities and colleges, is an important measure. The innovation project ‘Excellent Building Region’48 defines the development of collaboration between actor groups within the construction industry, defines the development of cluster activities that will form the basis for a powerful business development, and has the development of an innovation and test platform as its priority objectives. The alignment of applied research conducted at universities and colleges to business needs and development opportunities is another important measure. North Middle Sweden has a sluggish economic growth compared to the national level and this triggers a need to devise a direct policy measure towards business innovation. North Middle Sweden has a number of well-functioning clusters that contribute to the growth of existing companies. The further development of existing clusters and promotion of new ones is expected to strengthen the economic competitiveness of the region. Considering that smart specialisation is a rather recent trend in regional innovation policies, it is too early to assess its relevance and applicability to the context of North Middle Sweden. In 2010, the OECD territorial review49 specifically mentioned Värmland as an exemplary non-metropolitan region with a strong innovation potential. The role of Karlstad University in the development of a regional ecosystem was also emphasised. In 2011, Region Värmland commissioned an evaluation study on regional innovative and learning capacity50. The study revealed that Karlstad University appears to have many functions that might contribute to smart specialisation51. For instance, Karlstad University has supported the establishment of research centres to enhance innovation e.g. the Service Research Centre (CTF) with a focus on service management and value creation through service. This might significantly contribute to collaboration and open innovation in research, education and business. Overall, however, monitoring reports and evaluations are still largely
47Region Dalarna (2015b) 48 Tillväxtverket (2015) 49 OECD (2010) 50Region Värmland (2013a) 51 Kempton (2014)
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missing for North Middle Sweden. This partially can be attributed to the fact that North Middle Sweden is not a traditional or functional region, there is no single body responsible for regional innovation policy and the integration of the formal governance structures of the three NUTS 3 regions of Värmland, Dalarna and Gävleborg is rather limited.
2.5 Policy good practice A promising regional support measure that has contributed to research, business development, innovation and quality assurance in the field of biotechnology, as well as to enhanced internationalisation, is the Glava Energy Centre in Arvika municipality in North Middle Sweden.52 Glava Energy Centre functions as an international test centre for renewable energy solutions. It also forms an arena where different actors may work together to create new opportunities for innovation, learning, development and testing in the field of renewable energy. The aim is to contribute to sustainable energy solutions and more efficient use of energy across the border. The centre is funded by Swedish Innovation agency VINNOVA, the Västra Götaland Region and the participating organisations and companies. The following companies and organisations are included as partners in the project: SP Technical Research (Project Manager), Glafo Glass Research Institute, Glava Energy Center, Chalmers University of Technology, Riksbyggen, TMF, wood and furniture companies, Linköping University, Skanska AB, Borås Energy and Environment, Swedish Solar Solkompaniet, Dalarna University, Encubator, Local Administration Gothenburg City, Paradis Energi AB, Caverion, SweModule AB. During 2012, the energy centre was expanded to include a weather station, energy storage systems, a wind measuring mast, new solar module technologies, a new framework for solar modules, a small wind turbine and a science centre for renewable energy. There are also ongoing studies on smart grids, local DC networks, biogas systems and a small hydro plant. The goal is that Glava Energy Centre will serve as a test centre at the regional, national and international level and will welcome companies and organisations that are operating within the field of renewable energy or energy efficiency. Glava Energy Centre runs several parallel projects continuously: • In the field of biogas, the centre has studied the production of biogas by breaking down household waste and other biodegradable waste in an anaerobic environment. In addition to biogas is also digested sludge in digestion, which can be used in agriculture as soil-enhancing fertilisers. The overall objective of the biogas study is to build a biogas plant that provides electricity and thermal energy; see whether it is possible to upgrade the facility to produce vehicle fuel; minimise methane emissions; enhance the availability of nutrients; and minimise transport and soil compaction by using manure refining. • A part of Glava Energy Park is a solar cell facility consisting of 500 solar cell modules. This research facility produces up to 100,000 kWh of electricity per year and is one of the largest in the Nordic region. The Nordic energy company Fortum has sold solar energy generated at Glava since 2012. • This facility also serves as a solar test bed where companies, academia and other organisations can collaborate on the development, testing and introduction of new products, services, processes or organisational solutions in solar energy. The
52 Glava Energy Center: http://www.glavaenergycenter.se/
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testbed has the potential to provide increased opportunities for research, business development, innovation and quality assurance in the field of solar energy. Actors willing to utilise the testbed also have access to support services such as advanced technical evaluation of knowledge, training, research assistance, and resources for the financing of start-ups and demonstration platforms. Besides running pilot projects, the test bed is directed at supporting and stimulating efforts to transform a promising idea or innovation into a product or service that is in demand on the market. The ultimate goal of the solar test bed has been an effective innovation platform for solar energy where leading Swedish actors have agreed on long- term cooperation. In the longer term, the test bed is used to create new products, systems, services and processes that can be developed, quality assured and market-adapted while the network formed around the testbed contributes to skills on both the supplier and customer side. The test bed is also expected to contribute to increased market share internationally for Swedish companies, innovators and entrepreneurs. • For the period 2015-2018, Glava Energy Centre will be a part of the EU Interreg V-A Sweden-Norway project EcoINSIDE53 as a part of the largest sub-project ‘Solar energy and energy’. This means that GEC will be able to work further with a focus on business development and internationalisation while also contributing to the nationally and internationally set climate goals and to small and medium-sized enterprises’ competitiveness. EcoINSIDE focuses on cross-border investment in trade- and industry-related activities in areas related to energy, environment and construction in Inner Scandinavia. The overall objective of EcoINSIDE is to create a cluster in Inner Scandinavia by 2020 focusing on environment-driven development and get existing businesses to grow, and to create new businesses and new companies in the Inner Scandinavian area. Industry involvement is essential in the project which aims to increase collaboration and knowledge transfer between strong research, business and public actors in the areas of solar energy and energy, sustainable building materials and handling of residual resources. The total budget is €4.45 million, of which €1.8 million are EU subsidies and Norwegian funding. On the Swedish side, the share of the budget for the three- year period is approximately €2 million. Co-financiers of the project on the Swedish side are Region Dalarna, Region Värmland and the Municipalities of Arvika and Torsby. On the Norwegian side the partners are Akershus County and Hedmark County.
2.6 Possible future orientations and opportunities When analysing the potential orientations and future opportunities for the innovation policy of North Middle Sweden, it is a notable fact that monitoring reports and evaluations are still largely missing for North Middle Sweden. This can partially be attributed to the fact that North Middle Sweden is not a traditional or internally coordinated region, and there is no specific innovation strategy or policy to coordinate the support of research and innovation at the NUTS 2. The following tentative future orientations and opportunities may be identified when summarising the analysis based on the previous Regional Innovation Report on Northern Central Sweden in 2012 and on the findings of this report:
53 EcoInside Project: http://ecoinside.nu/in-english/ http://www.interreg-sverige-norge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EcoINSIDE.pdf
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• Strengthen inter-regional collaboration Inter-regional collaboration is a key component of the implementation of RIS3. The smart specialisation approach emphasises the need for regional strategies to adopt an ‘outward-looking’ approach in their orientation towards global value chains, for an assessment of priorities vis-à-vis other regions, as well as consideration about cross- regional projects and networks54. Shifting towards smart specialisation in regional innovation strategies in North Middle Sweden opens up new venues for counties to exploit the untapped opportunities in inter-regional collaboration for innovation and innovation-driven growth, looking beyond the traditional perception of essential challenges and barriers affecting regions. However, the potential for regions to engage in inter-regional policy collaboration remains so far underexploited. This calls for considerable strive to clarify its use, the challenges and potential benefits associated herewith in connection with smart specialisation. • Continue the development of service-based industries High global competition in the primary sectors has resulted in rationalisation and an increased focus on productivity. To reduce the dependency on capital-intensive export industries and to broaden the innovation base, it has become increasingly important to support the development of entrepreneurship and growth in the more human capital- intensive sectors, such as the service sector. In this regard, stimulation of cross-sector collaboration and development of new sectors, contributing to a broader industry base or innovation with a potential for smart specialisation, play a key role. As a response to this challenge, various policy measures have been applied in North Middle Sweden in order to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in the services sector, including university research, establishment of new cluster organisations and incubators, regional investment funds and an innovation office at Karlstad University. Several initiatives, such as knowledge-intensive services, creative industries, health care and tourism, have a specific focus on the development of the services sector. A support infrastructure for the services sector is developing in the region, consisting of a combination of research institutions, e.g. the Centre for Services Research (CTF) at Karlstad University, and support organisations, e.g. the incubator INOVA and the innovation support office, Four Leaf Clover. The competence on cluster development among regional policy makers, business representatives, researchers and cluster management represents an important asset for the region in terms of strengthening the service sector. This competence may be used for continued development of existing cluster organisations, as well as for the development of cluster organisations in emerging sectors. • Promoting international collaboration RIS3 advocates a more open view of innovation policy when compared to previous strategic approaches. It has its key focus on the internal linkages that are part of regional innovation systems and pays little attention to the international and trans- regional networks. RIS3 calls support the idea of an ‘outward orientation’, e.g. by assessing opportunities and comparative advantages of the region compared to other EU regions and non-EU regions. It also promotes synergies with ongoing projects in other EU countries and promotes international research and innovation research partnerships and the mobility of personnel across borders55. Combining regional specialisation with intense international collaboration is an important factor for future competitiveness and successful regional smart specialisation strategy. Focus on international exchange of knowledge, resources,
54 JRC Technical Reports (2014) 55 JRC Technical Reports (2014)
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technologies and business practices is necessary if the region is to attain the diversity in skills and experience required of a top innovative technology region. The international collaboration could become more firmly embedded into the regional network and cluster strategies through purposeful control and attention. The challenges related to strengthening the internationalisation of the region could be addressed through collaboration initiatives in the region’s areas of strengths.
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Appendix A Bibliography
1. Ansøgning om BSR Innovation Express 2014 – Accelerating Bio-Economy Innovation for SMEs (2014), Uddannelses Forskningsministeriet 2. Bjurulf, S. and Vedung, E. (2009). Do public interventions for innovation hit their targets? Evaluating cluster organisations in Northern Central Sweden.
3. BSR innovation express application (2014)
4. En innovationsstrategi för Gävleborg (2014-2020). Available at: http://gammal.regiongavleborg.se/download/18.7bd66298134c29e5d6b8000355 0/innovationsstrategi.pdf
5. Innovation Express. Call text (2014), Nordic Council of Ministers and BSR Stars Innovation in the Baltic Region.
6. Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015. European Commission.
7. JRC Technical Reports (2014) Inter-regional collaboration in research and innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3). S# Working Papers Series, No 06/2014
8. Kempton, L. (2014) Delivering Smart Specialisation in Peripheral Regions: the Role of Universities.
9. Lindqvist, M. ed. (2010) Regional Development in the Nordic Countries 2010, Nordregio Report 2010:2. Available at: http://www.nordregio.se/Global/Publications/Publications%202010/R2010_2_ Regional%20Development_Report.pdf
10. Memorandum of understanding. Inter-cluster cooperation strategy, 2013.
11. OECD Territorial Reviews: Sweden 2010. Available at: http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/urban-rural-and- regional-development/oecd-territorial-reviews-sweden-2010_9789264081888- en#page1
12. Operational Programme Interreg-V-A-Sverige-Norge 2014-2020. Available at: http://www.interreg-sverige- norge.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/Programdokument-Interreg-V-A- Sverige-Norge1.pdf 13. Opperativet program inom målet investering för sysselsättning och tillväxt 2014- 2020. Available at: http://eu.tillvaxtverket.se/download/18.31c2dc0f149b90a6601e586e/144304834 8106/OP+Norra+Mellansverige.pdf
14. Paper Province (2014). Paper Province Årsredovisning.
15. Paper Province (2015) Nothing truly valuable can be achieved without cooperation.
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16. Regeringskansliet (2014) En nationell strategi för regional tillväxt och attraktionskraft 2014-2020. Available at: http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/24/16/63/e0e1d3b3.pdf
17. Region Dalarna (2011) Kom petensförsörjning i Dalarnas län - fakta och förutsättningar. Available at: http://www.regiondalarna.se/wp- content/uploads/2014/02/Kompetensf%C3%B6rs%C3%B6rjning-i-Dalarnas- l%C3%A4n-Fakta-och-f%C3%B6ruts%C3%A4ttningar1.pdf
18. Region Dalarna (2014) Dalastrategin – Dalarna 2020. Available at: http://www.regiondalarna.se/wp- content/uploads/2014/06/Original_Dalastrategi-Dir-14-05-08.pdf
19. Region Dalarna (2015a) CLIP 3.0 - Innovativa miljöer för hållbar logistik och innovativ produktion. Available at: http://www.hig.se/Ext/Sv/Organisation/Akademier/Akademin-for-teknik-och- miljo/Avdelningar/Avdelningen-for-industriell-utveckling-IT-och- samhallsbyggnad/Industriell-ekonomi/CLIP.html
20. Region Dalarna (2015b) Dalarna Destination – Innovativ tjänstutveckling, fas II. Available at: http://www.regiondalarna.se/wp- content/uploads/2014/04/Projektarenden_DIR_20150327.pdf
21. Region Värmland (2013a) Beslut om att bevilja medel till Region Värmland för projekt uppföljning och utvärdering för ökat lärande inom ramen för det regionala tillväxtarbetet 2013. Available at: http://www.regionvarmland.se/wp- content/uploads/2015/04/beslutsarende_9_130221.pdf
22. Region Värmland (2013b) Beslut att godkänna Avsiktsförklaring om medverkan i the Paper Province 2.0, ett innovationssystem för en bio-baserad samhällsekonomi.
23. Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2014. European Commission.
Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2012. European Commission. 24. Regional utveckling och smart specialisering i Värmland (2015), PPT Available at: n/a
25. Strukturfondspartnerskapet Norra Mellansverige (2015a). Dala Sports Academy – från idé till innovation för hälsan.
26. Strukturfondspartnerskapet Norra Mellansverige (2015a). Innovation Park – möjliggörare för hållbar och strategiskt innovation.
27. Swedish Research and Innovation Strategy for a Bio-based Economy (2012). Available at: http://www.formas.se/PageFiles/5074/Strategy_Biobased_Ekonomy_hela.pdf
28. Tillväxtverket (2014a). Beslut om överlämnande av project till Strukturfondspartnerskapet i Norra Mellansverige. Available at: http://eu.tillvaxtverket.se/download/18.dc469ed14d82e6e120cf98e/1443048336 433/Norra+Mellansverige+beviljade+projekt.pdf
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29. Tillväxtverket (2014b). Beslut om överlämnande av projekt för yttrande om prioritering till Strukturfondspartnerskapet i Norra Mellansverige.
30. Tillväxtverket (2015). EU-medel/Investeringar för tillväxt och sysselsättning/Norra Mellansverige/Att öka små och medelstora företags konkurrenskraft. Available at: http://www.byggdialogdalarna.se/UserFiles/Dokument/ExcellentBuildingRegion vers3.pdf
31. TPP projektansökan Vinnväxt 2013. Available at: n/a
32. Visma / Bolagsverket, the Swedish Companies Registration Office (2014) Increase in Startup Companies in 2014. Available at: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/visma/documents/vismas-rapport-foer- nyfoeretagandet-december-2014-41846 33. Värmlands forsknings- och innovationsstrategi – för smart specialisering 2015- 2020 (2015). Available at: http://www.regionvarmland.se/wp- content/uploads/2015/03/VRIS3-150522.pdf
34. Värmlandsmodellen 2.0. Klusterstrategi 2013-2017. Available at: http://www.regionvarmland.se/wp- content/uploads/2015/03/klusterstrategi2013-2017.pdf
35. Värmlandsstrategin 2014-2020. Available at: http://www.regionvarmland.se/wp- content/uploads/2015/03/varmlandsstrategin_2014-2020.pdf 36. Vinnova (2014). Vinnväxt: a programme renewing and moving Sweden ahead. Available at: http://www.vinnova.se/upload/EPiStorePDF/vi_14_04.pdf
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Appendix B Stakeholders consulted
1. Anders Olsson, Manager Research and Innovation, Region Värmland (19 November 2015). 2. Maria Hollander, Chief executive officer, Paper Province (19 November 2015). 3. Magnus Lestelius, Professor, Karlstad University (20 November 2015). 4. Uno Olsson, Vice President/Division Industry, Cowi (20 November 2015). 5. Marit Werner, Programme Manager, VINNOVA/Policy and Systems Development Department (23 November 2015).
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