157 Publications
The Nordic View on Sustainability – Learnings from the Local Level
This Nordic Voluntary Subnational Review (VSR) is the first cross-national report of its kind in the world. It has been developed as a joint venture by the Nordic Associations of Local and Regional Governments (LRGAs) and Nordregio. The aim of the report is to highlight how the Nordic municipalities and regional authorities have localised the Sustainable Development Goals – progress made, as well as obstacles they have met in their work. Through the report and a toolbox, we want to share learnings and tested methods with local and regional authorities globally. Development happens locally. At least 105 of the 169 SDG targets depend on active engagement from local and regional authorities. The 2030 Agenda can serve as a tool to pinpoint sustainability challenges and track progress holistically, fostering collaboration among citizens, businesses, and civil society. Nordic welfare states, known for their autonomy at the municipal and regional level, have long served as a global benchmark for systematically addressing sustainability challenges. This Nordic VSR is based on surveys sent to Nordic municipalities, complemented by interviews with representatives from the LRGAs regarding the strengths and weaknesses of national support to the local level, as well as the role of LRGAs in building competence and promoting municipal cooperation. The report also includes subchapters on methods for meaningful citizen engagement by The Nordic Youth Network for Sustainable Development and the Nordic Civil Society Network. The report’s official launch will take place as a side event at the UN High-Level Political Forum and via live stream on 9 July 2024. See the full programme and register here. Five highlights from the report Nordic Toolbox An important complement to the Nordic VSR is the Nordic Toolbox: an interactive, online map of Nordic municipalities showcasing transferable methods and initiatives for implementing the SDGs. The Nordic Toolbox offers a diverse collection of examples and…
- 2024 July
- Report
- Nordic Region
- Governance
- Sustainable development
From Vision to Practice – Insights from Nordic-Baltic 5G applications across sectors
This report builds on the findings of the Nordic-Baltic 5G Monitoring Tool (N-B 5G MT) project ‘Analytical Report’, which focused on mapping 5G activities in the Nordic-Baltic region and analysing their roll-out status. In this follow-up report, we delve deeper into actual 5G applications across different verticals (i.e. sectors), including healthcare, transportation/mobility, industry and media/broadcasting. The Nordic-Baltic region faces knowledge gaps in understanding 5G’s full economic impact, despite its role as both a service and an enabler. While there’s notable activity in sectors like transport, smart cities, and health, most 5G projects are still in the early stages, and the business case for widespread 5G deployment is not yet clear. This report examines how various sectors address these challenges and what can be learned from their experiences in advancing 5G development. The report identifies challenges in each sector, such as funding constraints in healthcare, technical hurdles in transportation, market immaturity in industry, and infrastructure investment needs in media, highlighting the complex landscape of 5G deployment. The project’s key findings point to a number of cross-cutting challenges that require comprehensive attention and solutions: Overall, the report emphasises the need for a systemic approach to addressing these challenges. This includes clarifying the business value of 5G; fostering ecosystems for collaboration; and ensuring that policy and regulatory frameworks support the innovative, equitable deployment of 5G technology. Overcoming these hurdles will require concerted efforts from all stakeholders, including governments, industry and the wider community. Only then will the transformative potential of 5G for society be fully realised.
- 2024 March
- Report
- Baltic Sea Region
- Nordic Region
- Digitalisation
- Governance
Svensk-norskt samarbete: viktiga utmaningar och framtida möjligheter
Denna rapport, beställd av Region Värmland, analyserar gränshinder inom den statliga regionalpolitiken mellan Sverige och Norge, med målet att belysa integrationen av gränsperspektivet och diskutera utmaningar samt möjligheter för gränsöverskridande samarbete. Gränsen mellan Sverige och Norge beskrivs som “mjuk” med omfattande flöden, där historien av samarbete erbjuder betydande potential. Starka sociala band och ‘den mjuka gränsen’ främjar arbetskraftens rörlighet och affärssamarbeten, vilket bidrar till ökad konkurrenskraft och större marknader. Rapporten identifierar även gränshinder som påverkar individer, pendlare, och företag i gränsområdet. Den betonar vikten av dialog och samverkan för att ta tillvara möjligheter och hitta lösningar på gemensamma utmaningar. Rapporten framhåller att den regionala politiken i båda länderna ger regionerna ansvar för utveckling, men pekar på skillnader i hur gränsöverskridande aspekter hanteras. Den understryker vikten av gränsöverskridande samarbete för att skapa en integrerad arbetsmarknad och främja ekonomisk utveckling, trots att dessa aspekter har fått minskad uppmärksamhet i de nuvarande nationella strategierna. Rapporten uppmanar till en ökad inriktning på gränsöverskridande samarbete och bättre utnyttjande av regionernas potential för att överbrygga gränshinder och främja en hållbar utveckling i gränsregionerna.
- 2024 March
- Report
- Cross-border
- Nordic Region
- Governance
- Labour market
Scaling up Nordic impact through public procurement
In 2019, it was estimated that, of 5,000 Nordic start-ups, 10% included solutions that addressed the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, many of them struggled to make a profit, especially at the early stages and mostly due to a lack of access to the market and to the right supporters. Considering this, Nordic Innovation has funded this desk study for mapping barriers and enablers of impact start-ups through public procurement. This publiction consists of two sections: The first part addresses barriers to public procurement, enablers for social innovation, and institutional support measures. In part two, we evaluate how Nordic municipalities use alternative financial models such as social impact bonds (SIBs) and public-private partnerships to achieve social impact. The content is developed from the perspective of impact start-ups and entrepreneurs, institutions, public-private partnerships, and impact investors. Each perspective considers the barriers and enablers for impact start-ups according to their spheres of action. By reviewing the existing obstacles and opportunities facing impact start-ups in the Nordic Region, planners and policymakers can improve the legal framework to remove barriers and strengthen existing enablers to help impact start-ups meet societal needs.
- 2023 February
- Working paper
- Nordic Region
- Digitalisation
- Finance
- Governance
Nordic overview of national support initiatives in urban planning
The Nordic countries share many cross-sectoral targets at the national level to meet ambitious environmental, social, sustainable, and innovative development goals and targets. However, in the context of spatial planning, central governments in the Nordic countries often have limited ability to influence local and regional level priorities. As the Nordic region seeks a greener, more competitive, and socially sustainable future, understanding the diversity of ongoing national interventions and mechanisms in local and regional land use and spatial planning is needed. The focus on Nordic national support initiatives is therefore to understand both the regulative and national support aspects (top-down) and the actual needs (bottom-up) to achieve national cross-sectoral targets as these relate to green and inclusive urban development. This policy brief presents a mapping of the relevant initiatives across the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden).
- 2022 December
- Policy brief
- Nordic Region
- Governance
- Sustainable development
- Urban planning
Can we break the isolation? Experiences of digital tools in elderly care in three Swedish municipalities
Loneliness and social isolation pose significant challenges for older people living alone and in nursing homes by affecting their physical and mental health. Due to requirements for self-isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, these challenges have been further exacerbated. The use of digital technology in elderly care has the potential to combat social isolation, for example, by increasing access to home care and providing opportunities to participate in social activities. Nevertheless, previous knowledge about the efficiency of digital interventions to counteract the loneliness of older people is limited. The new report investigates how caregivers have dealt with the challenges of loneliness and social isolation of the elderly population during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the use of digital technologies. The aim was also to understand better how digital tools can be used in a socially inclusive way in elderly care. The research method consisted of semi-structured interviews with municipal officials, senior care managers and senior care staff in three case study municipalities (Huddinge, Eskilstuna and Storuman). In addition, older adults who live in nursing homes and at home with support efforts such as home care were interviewed, and a mapping analysis of the case study municipalities was carried out. The transcribed interview material was analysed using a qualitative manifest content analysis method. According to the interview results in the three case study municipalities, the pandemic has not been a considerable driving force for a digital transformation in elderly care. In all municipalities, they had started working on certain digitisation efforts even before the pandemic broke out in the spring of 2020. With the pandemic, they had to make quick and courageous decisions, and the municipalities also received state grants that enabled digital investments, such as the purchase of digital equipment. In addition, the elderly care staff supported the elderly using digital…
- 2022 December
- Report
- Nordic Region
- Digitalisation
- Governance
- Health and wellbeing
Combatting long-term unemployment among immigrants
During the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants were more likely to face long-term unemployment than their native-born peers across all Nordic countries. The unemployment rates for foreign-born rose even further in 2020. In 2021, this trend was reversed, and unemployment rates decreased again. This report, written by Nordregio researchers and published by the Nordic Council of Ministers, aims to identify key policy measures, institutions, civil society actors, and initiatives that have been used to address the situation. The report has three main objectives: It describes the extent of the challenge posed by long-term unemployment among immigrants in each Nordic country before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It elucidates how long-term unemployment and labour market inactivity among immigrants have been discussed and approached at the national level in each Nordic country during and after the pandemic. It also highlights local practices that have proved successful in helping long-term unemployed, non-European, often poorly educated immigrants improve their skills and find work – and analyse what these practices have in common and what we can learn from them.
- 2022 October
- Report
- Nordic Region
- Covid-19
- Governance
- Integration
- Labour market
- Migration