Written by Martina Buss, Viexpo
NordicHub is a shared platform for Finnish clusters that brings clusters and operators together. NordicHub is also a network that brings Nordic clusters and networks into a joint discussion on increasing exports and growth.
Nordic cooperation and networks are the way to grow and develop in the future. During 2021, Viexpo has invested fully in building Nordic cooperation and networks. Kristian Schrey and Katja Jankens play a key role in this work, which is carried out under the NordicHub brand. The brand has become quite familiar to Finnish clusters and to the companies operating within them. NordicHub has also purposefully carried its message to the other Nordic countries, creating new networks to benefit Finnish companies and clusters. Katja Jankens and Kristian Schrey tell us about the network of networks – NordicHub.
Finland can meet the challenges of the future as long as new forms of cooperation and business are found. Economic development in Finland is slower than in Sweden and Norway, and besides its neighbours, countries such as Germany and the Netherlands also have a considerable head start on Finland. According to research, Finland’s export performance has not been sufficient. Exports would, however, increase Finnish companies’ opportunities to grow and create added value.
”Accelerating exports and growth in Finland is of the utmost importance for the country’s economy, and clusters can be a significant part of the solution to this problem. Clusters are also neutral cooperation platforms”, Kristian Schrey reflects.
Strength from the network
NordicHub’s network is growing constantly, and Finnish clusters and cluster operators broadly support this joint effort. The network currently includes both Finnish clusters and operators as well as Nordic organisations and other actors. NordicHub’s network holds solid expertise from all over Finland and from every Nordic country.
In Finland, NordicHub has been received positively, and cluster operators and clusters in particular have said they have been missing an actor that takes on the task of developing cooperation nationally. The hope is for a shared national cluster programme and, through it, a strong support network.
In the Nordic countries, NordicHub has been received quite superbly. NordicHub is seen as a positive actor promoting Finland, Finnish clusters and cooperation, and also as a shared Nordic actor. The other Nordic countries welcome Finland into cluster cooperation with open arms.
Cluster work in the Nordic countries
In Norway and Denmark, a national cluster programme has been developed over several decades. Norway has a dedicated support organisation for clusters, which builds and develops the cluster programme and provides funding and development measures. This raises the visibility and competence of clusters, as well as innovation in companies, to an entirely new level. The cluster support organisation works together with ministries and relevant actors. Norwegian clusters can apply to join the Norwegian cluster programme, and a certain number of the applicant clusters are selected each year. At the same time, the selected clusters gain a particular status and receive greater investment than before.
In Iceland, the implementation of a national cluster programme has recently begun. In Finland, clusters are not discussed in the same way as in the other Nordic countries. Finland has focused more on ecosystems, and although we too have several clusters, we have fallen behind the other Nordic countries in developing clusters systematically.
The message from the field is clear
It is time for Finland to create a cluster programme of the kind already found in most European countries. Through a cluster programme, business networks and clusters can be developed systematically, the clusters’ cause advanced and services produced for them. The national cluster programme is hoped to bring the support and know-how offered to clusters together in one place. It is also hoped to take care of international cooperation with other countries.
It is considered important that cluster work and its value be raised in Finland. A clear definition of a cluster is needed, as well as a broader understanding that Europe is now investing in clusters. At EU level too, cluster activity and cooperation between clusters will be supported ever more strongly.
The current funding instruments are not suited to funding clusters in the way that would be hoped, and funding is therefore very difficult to obtain at present. A well-designed cluster programme could bring a solution to this as well. With the help of a cluster programme, we could raise Finland back to the Nordic level.
The fruits of training
NordicHub’s activities include organising training for clusters, mapping the cluster field in Finland, and gathering information and needs from the field. NordicHub also builds long-term relationships and networks in the cluster field worldwide.
In the autumn, Finnish clusters were offered a training package whose content was tailored specifically to the Finnish situation. The trainer was a true professional in the field, a world-class cluster trainer who has helped several countries around the world both to create and to implement national cluster programme strategies.
Participation in the training was active, and many had the chance to challenge themselves and the other participants. The participants clearly had a desire to learn new things and develop their clusters, to gain new ideas to try out and new perspectives on the familiar.
Let’s develop and internationalise together
The dream for the future is that NordicHub will lead and coordinate a national cluster programme in close cooperation with the ministries and relevant actors. A solid cooperation platform must be built for Finland’s clusters and business networks.
”I want NordicHub to bring Finland’s clusters together on a single platform, to develop and internationalise together.” Katja Jankens envisions.
Katja Jankens is NordicHub Manager and Kristian Schrey is CEO of Viexpo.
The author is responsible for communications and administration at Viexpo.
