Local government, businesses and universities across the Swedish-Danish border are working hand-in-hand to further knowledge-based economic development in this cross-border region. The Øresund Science Region initiative is designed to sustain the momentum gained following the opening of the Øresund bridge.
- 23 December 2009
This project has had real impact and has overcome language, legislative and physical barriers by building inter-regional partnerships that had previously been non-existent. It is an excellent example of a bottom-up triple helix approach. The project has a good administrative foundation, good working partnerships and is a good example of successful networking.
The initiative embraces the unique strengths of the region, namely a highly educated population and market-leading technology. It has forged a partnership between the region’s 11 universities, 6science parks, 2 000 companies and some 12 000 researchers. Together these parties are bridging the gap between research and industry by overcoming challenges relating to the different arrangements that exist in each country, such as intellectual property rights, funding mechanisms, capital requirements, business traditions and academic educational structures.
Cooperation to drive growth
The Øresund Science Region (ØSR) is a regional development project designed to boost innovation and research by linking authorities, industry and universities across the Swedish-Danish border in identified core areas of expertise.
The following platforms are part of the ØSR: Øresund IT; Øresund Environment Academy; Øresund Food Network; Øresund Logistics. These platforms secure and develop an innovative environment for new knowledge and an efficient structure for commercialisation. They integrate the various disciplines among academia, industry and the public sector.
One of these platforms, Øresund Food Network, initiated a network project, called Unlimited Health, to establish a health industry in the Øresund region. Major university hospitals, universities, authorities and food and pharma industries from Sweden and Denmark are part of this network. The outcome was increased innovation and regional company growth in new health promoting food products, thereby improving general public health in the long run.
Model for growth
The ØSR developed a unique model for growth, known as the ‘double triple-helix’. This model is based on knowledge in a cross-border region that brings together local government, businesses and universities from two different countries, with their different administrative and legal cultures, industrial landscapes and languages.
The ØSR achieved: state-of-the-art scientific clusters and networks; creation of new knowledge in areas where the Øresund Region is competitive on a global scale; the development of an innovative environment and efficient commercialisation structure; setting up of global branding and marketing for the Øresund Region as a high tech region, securing sustainable economic growth while maintaining a high ethical standard; promotion of integration across the borders of Denmark and Sweden; a worldwide inflow of students, scientists, capital and companies into the region.