Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway are among the world's most economically competitive and innovative countries. According to the "
Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010", Sweden, Denmark and Finland are the frontrunner in European innovation alongside Switzerland and Germany.
Nordic countries have placed research and development (R&D) high on the agenda for several decades. For example, Sweden and Finland invest more money in R&D – some 4% of their GDP – than any other countries in the world. This puts them above the Lisbon objective formulated for 2010 of 3%. In both countries, this has largely been achieved by the private sector. Both countries are striving to boost public investment in R&D.
Because of their size, the Nordic countries are dependent on regional (within the
Nordic Research and Innovation Area NORIA) and global cooperations. They are therefore focusing increasingly on international R&D cooperation. The quality of research in the Nordic countries is high. In international evaluations, researchers from the far north achieve consistently good scores. The researchers perform well in competition with other EU countries. Within the joint programs of the EU, the high scientific quality of research in Nordic countries clearly stands out.
Important goals of German cooperation with Nordic countries are the systematic expansion of relations with Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea region as a whole and the establishment of international links based on existing partnerships. To this end, the BMBF published an
announcement governing the funding of an ideas competition for the establishment and development of innovative R&D networks with partners in the Baltic Sea region in spring 2010. A total of twenty-four projects contribute to the implementation of the measure. A model for cooperation in the Baltic Sea region can be realised when all measures and research projects undertaken to achieve cooperation are geared towards sustainability.
