NordForsk: Pooling excellence, Glocalising science

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NordForsk Pooling excellence, Glocalising
science
since 2005

• Liisa Hakamies-Blomqvist
• Tallin XI 2006

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Nordic countries rank high on many success
indicators...
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Nordic countries rank high on many success
indicators...
...but for how long?
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Nordic research today

• Strengths
• Large investments in RD (in of GDP)
• 2004 numbers SE 3.7, FI 3.5, IS 3.0 DK
  2.6, NO 1.6
• EU-15 1,95
• Leading position in many fields
• Tradition of research cooperation
• University cooperation on all levels
• Cultural, social, and geographic similarities
• Weaknesses
• Do not always reach critical mass
• Nordic investment levels are low
• Poor visibility and attraction value

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NORIA the Nordic Research and Innovation Area

• In an extended Europe, regional research
  cooperation becomes increasingly important
• The establishment of a Nordic Research and
  Innovation Area (NORIA) strengthens the Nordic
  region in Europe/globally
• Noria has two pillars
• NICe established 1.1. 2004
• NordForsk established 1.1. 2005 by the Nordic
  Council of Ministers
• NordForsk is a Meta-Regional Research Board an
  organisation for Nordic research cooperation

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NordForsks Mission 1/2

• The mission of NordForsk is to strengthen and
  further develop the Nordic region as one of the
  most dynamic regions in the world for research
  and innovation and, thereby, enhance the
  international competitiveness of the Nordic
  countries and the living conditions of the
  populations in the region.

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NordForsks Mission 2/2

• NordForsk will
• facilitate efficient co-operation between the
  Nordic countries, in terms of research and
  researcher education of the highest international
  quality
• contribute both to the further development of
  high quality and relevant research as well as to
  global public good through the use of research
  results in the society
• enhance the regions possibilities to make a
  global contribution

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Vision 2009

• NordForsk is an important vehicle for combining
  national strengths in such a way that the
  resulting synergy increases the chance of Nordic
  success at the global level.
• NORIA is the first and best functioning research
  region within ERA.

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NordForsks Values 1/3

• Nordic Strength
• NordForsk seeks to identify and promote
  activities where Nordic research collaboration
  will produce added value and continuously seeks
  to identify and cultivate new sources of such
  added value.

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NordForsks Values 2/3

• Quality
• Scientific quality, including scientific and
  social relevance, is the most important criterion
  guiding NordForsks choices and priorities

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NordForsks Values 3/3

• Partnership, Integrity and Transparency
• The daily work of NordForsk is characterised by
  
• good communication with its stakeholders
• integrity and transparency in its decision making
  

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NordForsks three roles

• Coordination
• Funding
• Policy advice

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Coordination

• identifying important research priorities
  suitable for joint Nordic efforts
• focusing on joint international positions of
  strength in research and strategically important
  areas
• participating in the planning of key
  infrastructures
• working towards common Nordic calls and partial
  opening up of national programmes
• We work together, but we also coordinate Nordic
  efforts to offer a joint platform for
  collaboration with other countries/regions

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Funding

• provision of financial support to relevant Nordic
  research efforts together with different national
  bodies for research funding
• joint efforts within the field of researcher
  education and joint funding of programmes
• financing of preliminary studies or
  investigations that can serve as a basis for
  decisions on joint Nordic activities
• funding of joint use of major Nordic
  infrastructures

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Policy advice

• serving as advisory body to the Nordic Council of
  Ministers
• creating a forum for a debate on research policy
  issues
• functioning as facilitator of the interactive
  development of the national and Nordic science
  policies
• Joint Nordic platform for policy dialogue with
  other countries/regions

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Operating principles

• Glue Money common pot solutions co-funded with
  at least three national actors, NordForsk usually
  contributing with 1/3 of the total funding
• Seed Money national funding covers the basic
  activities, NordForsk provides up to 100 of the
  extra funding needed
• Participants in activities from at least three
  countries
• Co-funding with foreign funding agencies possible
  if win-win situations and complementarities can
  be achieved
• All funding decisions based on scientific
  excellence
• Participation for Russian and Baltic partners is
  possible within all schemes

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Excellence Instruments and indicators
International publishing
The Nobel Prize
Clusters ofindicators
Citations, impact
Creative ideas,theses
Patents, products,social innovations
High
Succes as supervisor
Keynotes,honorary posts
Level of Risk
Level of Excellence
Seed money
Networks
NCoE
Clusters ofinstruments
Researcher training
Low
In the making
Established and recognised
Life course
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Why pool excellence?

• increased scientific quality
• reduced fragmentation
• creation of critical mass
• increased visibility
• increased attractiveness of NORIA for researchers
• contribution to the overall branding of the
  region

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NordForsk today

• Secretariat (approx. 14 persons) in Oslo, sharing
  offices with NICe and Nordic Energy Research
• Overall strategy finalised in June, work on
  international strategy initiated
• Budget for 2006 approx. 116 million NOK
• Board 9 members 7 observers appointed on an
  institutional basis National Research Councils
  and University Rectors one representative of
  industry one Baltic observer

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Ongoing activities

• Nordic Centres of Excellence
• - global change
• - molecular medicine
• - humanities/social sciences
• New NCoE calls Food, Nutrition and Health
• Welfare
• Research schools
• - global change
• - humanities and social sciences - fishery
• Networks, planning grants, research training
  courses, etc all scientific areas

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We are all Baltic Sea citizens
Milette Brotherus (Malm) Born 1857 in
Poland Father Finnish-Swedish officer in the
Russian army Mother Polish Countess Grandmother
German Went to school at Smolna,
St.Petersburg Married a Finnish scholar Lived
in Finland and Åland Died in Finland
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Lets become glocalized!

• To be internationally positioned is a necessary
  precondition for success
• To be locally strong is a competition advantage
• The new Nordic and Baltic Sea State research
  cooperation Globally competitive through
  regional integration
• www.nordforsk.org