Publications

The twelfth volume in the series “Regional Development in the Nordic Countries” is now published. The reports have regularly supplied practitioners with comprehensive analysis of the Nordic regional development scene. This is a summary report, using results from more than twenty recent or ongoing research and analysis projects. After a period of strong economic growth all five Nordic countries were hit by the global recession in the autumn of 2008. This, of course, has constituted an important challenge to all countries, but to Iceland in particular. The report presents the recent development of human resources, economic growth and labour markets at national and regional level in the Nordic countries and gives a state-of-the art introduction to the current situation. Even if the Nordic countries are perceived as relatively homogenous, important differences continue to exist between regions. This has contributed to an increased focus in regional policy on growth strategies based on regional challenges and potentials. The report also includes more in depth analysis related to the core areas of research at Nordregio, for example on variations in migration patterns and the development of Nordic energy policy.

Samhällsplanering för jämställd trygghet – Fallstudier från Finland, Österrike, Storbritannien och Baltikum. Commisioned by Boverket (Unpublished) Bakgrunden till rapporten Samhällsplanering för jämställd trygghet är att re-geringen i oktober 2008 gav Boverket och länsstyrelserna i uppdrag att stödja ett konkret utvecklingsarbete för att stärka tryggheten i stads- och tätortsmiljöer ur ett jämställdhetsperspektiv. En del i detta arbete har varit att se över kunskapsläget i ämnet. Som ett led i det gav Boverket Nordregio i uppdrag att genomföra en förstudie om olika länders arbete med trygghet i stads- och tät-ortsmiljöer ur ett jämställdhetsperspektiv. Det resulterade i en fortsatt studie av fyra länders arbete. Resultatet presenteras i den här rapporten. Rapporten ger en bild av hur arbetet med trygghet ur ett jämställdhetsperspektiv ser ut utanför Sverige. Den är uppbyggd kring fyra fallstudier, från Finland, Litauen, Storbritannien respektive Österrike. Fallstudierna är relativt fristående från varandra, beroende på att jämställdhets- och planeringssituationen ser olika ut i de olika länderna. Innehållet är intressant på flera vis och har något att ge för flera målgrupper. Både för de som arbetar på teoretiskt nivå men även till samhällsplanerarna ute på fältet. Fallen kan fungera som inspiration för hur det går att arbeta i olika situationer. Det är också intressant att se att det finns olika perspektiv på trygghet, vilket i sin tur påverkar arbetet med trygghet ur ett jämställdhetsperspektiv.

Provides a comprehensive insight into the consequences of climate change for the North Atlantic region. The book takes a special look at regional consequences with regard to the sea, the land, the people, the natural living resources, transport and geopolitics. NORA 2009. Most public discussions on climate change – and the potential ecological and economic impacts these may have – are focusing on the ongoing build-up of industrial greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a gradual increase in global temperatures. Based on the trends and tendencies, the conclusions often emphasize that present developments are moving towards an unprecedented situation that is a challenge to the world’s population. The discussion about the impacts of climate change in the North is often one-dimensional, identifying very simple cause and effect relationships and pointing to a unique situation, tending to ignore other mechanisms and potentially disruptive climate scenarios. At the same time, the current debate tends to ignore historical and pre-historical evidence demonstrating that the Earth’s climate repeatedly has shifted abruptly and dramatically and that it is capable of doing so in the future. Similarly, the discussions tend to ignore that populations throughout the existence of the human species on the globe often have managed to cope with the changes and through ingenuity and insight adjusted to the new situations. The North Atlantic region in the past has faced challenges that have been comparable to the present situation, and it has coped with these challenges. In many situations, it led to marked changes in the way life was lived, sometimes prompting remarkable innovation, and at other times leading to drastic measures and sudden actions. CLIMATE CHANGE – AND THE NORTH ATLANTIC provides a comprehensive insight into the consequences of climate change for the North Atlantic region. The book takes a special look at regional…

NORDREGIO, ÅSUB, 2010. 136 s. ( ÅSUB rapport 2010:7 ) I föreliggande rapport redovisas resultaten från halvtidsutvärderingen (mid-term evaluation) av Ålands EU-program 2009-2013 för utvecklingen av landsbygden, det s.k. LBU-programmet. Förutom en genomgång och analys av programmets genomförande fram till våren 2010, innehåller rapporten även slutsatser och förslag till anpassningar och förbättringar i genomförandet under den resterande delen av programperioden.

The Nordic Working Group on Globalisation and Cross-border Cooperation has published a paper which gives an overview of the current eleven Nordic Cross-border Cooperation Committees and their work. Part one of the paper gives an overview of the geographic context, organisational structures and project activities of the eleven Nordic Cross-border Cooperation Committees, as well as a comparison of the similarities and differences between the cross-border committees. Part two elucidates some key elements concerning the work of the cross-border committees: border obstacles, the integration of public authorities, as well as the importance of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Interreg programmes. The appendix of the paper contains fact sheets from each of the eleven cross-border cooperation committees which present their organisation and work in more detail. The paper is published in Swedish, English, and Finnish.

Elinkeino-, energia- ja aluepolitiikan ministerineuvoston (ÄK-R) alainen globalisaation ja rajat ylittävän yhteistyön työryhmän julkaisema raportti on katsaus Pohjolan yhteentoista rajakomiteaan ja niiden työskentelyyn. Raportin osa yksi käsittelee Pohjolan yhdentoista rajakomitean maantieteellistä kontekstia, organisaatiorakennetta ja projektitoimintaa. Lisäksi se vertailee eri rajakomiteoiden yhtäläisyyksiä ja eroja. Osa kaksi käsittelee rajakomiteoiden keskeisiä toimialueita: rajaesteitä, rajakomiteoiden merkitystä viranomaisintegraation kannalta sekä Pohjoismaiden Ministerineuvoston ja Interreg-ohjelmien merkitystä rajakomiteoiden rajaalueeseen liittyvän työn kannalta. Raportin liitteenä on yhteenveto kustakin raja-alueyhteistyökomiteasta organisaatio- ja työkuvauksen kera. Tämä raportti on julkaistu suomeksi, ruotsiksi ja englanniksi.

Den nordiska arbetsgruppen för globalisering och gränsöverskridande samarbete har publicerat en rapport som ger en överblick över dagens elva nordiska gränsöverskridande kommittéer och deras arbete. Rapportens första del ger en sammanfattning av de elva gränsöverskridande kommittéernas geografiska kontext, organisationsstruktur och projektaktiviteter. Den ger även en jämförelse av likheter och skillnader mellan kommittéerna. Rapportens andra del belyser viktiga frågor som gränskommittéerna arbetar med: gränshinder, integrering av offentliga myndigheter samt vikten av Nordiska ministerrådet och Interreg-program. Rapporten innehåller även bilagor med fakta om var och en av de elva gränskommittéerna. Dessa presenterar kommittéernas respektive organisation och arbete i detalj. Rapporten publiceras på svenska, engelska och finska.

Reflections,challenges and conclusions from 12 European metropolitan areas. The report summarises the intense work undertaken over an 18-month period by the METREX Expert Group on Intra-Metropolitan Polycentricity (IMP) set up in early 2009 on the initiative of the Regional Planning Office, Stockholm County Council and has been supported by Peter Schmitt (Nordregio) and Susan Brockett (Plan and Process) Spatial planners from twelve metropolitan areas across Europe (Emilia-Romagna, Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Helsinki City-Region, Île-de-France, Metropolitan Region Central Germany, Metropolitan Region Rotterdam – The Hague, Naples Metropolitan Area, Sofia Metropolitan Area, Stockholm Region, Tri-City Agglomeration, Veneto Region, Warsaw Metropolitan Area) were gathered together to distinguish and further explore three thematic strands deemed to be closely related to the concept of polycentricity ‘within’ metropolitan areas. These were a) Metropolitan Governance and the Implementation of Plans and Policies, b) Urban Sprawl and Climate Change Response, and c) Economic Competitiveness and Functional Labour Division between Centres. The report draws attention in particular to the major challenges, to reflect current methods, practices, routines and debates, and to share lessons and experiences with regard to the performance, applicability and implementation of the concept of polycentric in the respective metropolitan areas represented in the group.

In the report “Regional trajectories to the knowledge economy – Nordic-European comparisons” the main results of the REKENE project are presented. The main objective of the REKENE project as well as the mother project EURODITE has been to investigate how knowledge is generated, developed and transferred within and among firms or organisations and their regional contexts in order to gain a better understanding of how policies may be developed and used to facilitate knowledge dynamics. Furthermore, a specific aim of the REKENE project has been to deliver a policy toolkit regarding knowledge dynamics and innovation. In the REKENE project, we have investigated knowledge dynamics in seven regions in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. We have been able to compare our results with those from the 22 regions studied within the EURODITE project. The main findings regarding knowledge dynamics can be summarised in three key points. Firstly, cross-sectoral knowledge interactions drawing on different disciplines and fields of expertise are innovative and drive product development. Secondly, knowledge interactions are multiscalar; they include highly relevant extra-regional knowledge interactions. Multiscalar interactions are supported by policy instruments, ranging from cluster organisations to support for organising and participation in various events. Finally, knowledge dynamics include many types of actors conducting a variety of knowledge interactions. The REKENE toolkit consists of two types of interrelated items, tasks and tools, which are necessary to master in order to harness knowledge dynamics.

NORDIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME 2005-2008: Internationalisation of regional development policies – Needs and demands in the Nordic countries. The research programme Internationalisation of Regional Development Policies—Needs and Demands in the Nordic Countries was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) in the spring of 2005. The aim of the programme was to undertake research on key issues, where it was identified that new knowledge was needed and where such knowledge could benefit the development and implementation of regional development policies in the Nordic countries. Three prioritised themes for the research programme have been identified; namely, “regional governance”, “innovation and regional growth”, and “demography and labour migration”. In addition, two crosscutting topics were defined: “enlargement of the EU and the challenges for Nordic regional development policies” and the broad topic of “three dimensions of sustainable regional development”; i.e., social, economic and environmental sustainability. In all, 10 projects were funded during the programme period 2005–2009, and the research results were published in 10 separate reports. In this eleventh report of the programme, the three prioritised themes and two cross-cutting topics are revisited. In this report, key findings of the research projects are linked with trends to draw attention to issues of particular relevance for policymakers and practitioners working within the broad field of regional development.

A follow-up to the Arctic Human Development Report. Nordic Council of Ministers, 2010. Nordregio has contributed with text, maps and photos.

Cross-sectoral innovations in game development and film tourism. This report is a result of the project Regional Trajectories to the Knowledge Economy: A Dynamic Model (EURODITE). The main objective of the EURODITE project was to investigate knowledge dynamics; that is, how knowledge is generated, developed and transferred within and among firms or organisations, and their regional contexts. Empirical research on knowledge dynamics has been based on the building blocks of region, sector, and both territorial and firm-level knowledge. Territorial knowledge dynamics concern knowledge exchange, networks and interactions among actors across territories, both internal and extraregional. Firm-level knowledge dynamics contributes a deeper understanding of knowledge dynamics by studying the interactions within a firm or organisation and between firms or organisations that result in an innovation; for instance, a new or improved product. This report includes the description and analysis of two sets of territorial knowledge dynamics with accompanying firm-level knowledge dynamics in the moving media sector in the Skåne region of Sweden. The first case study looks at knowledge dynamics within computer game development and a micro-level study of the development of the serious game ‘Agent O’. The second case study elaborates on the knowledge dynamics related to film production and tourism with a micro-level study of the marketing collaboration ‘The Film Track’. In addition, these case studies have been placed in a wider European perspective by comparing them with the other case studies performed within the project. It is clear from the project’s case studies that knowledge dynamics are multiscalar and include important interactions at great distances. We conclude that cross-sectoral knowledge interactions are seed-beds for innovation and drive product development. Finally, knowledge interactions include many types of actors conducting a variety of knowledge interactions. In any region, there is a vast amount of intertwined evolution of knowledge dynamics. A…