Networking the innovators

The North Calotte region suffers from high unemployment and unbalanced trade. One element contributing to this situation is a lack of innovation and support for investors in the region. To remedy this deficiency and boost research and business innovations a partnership was initiated during the Europartenariat held in Luleå in June 1996. This project, which was funded with the support of the INTERREG II Community Initiative, aims to develop cross border co-operation between the adjoining border regions in Sweden and Finland to overcome unemployment, emigration, and unbalanced trade caused by geographical remoteness. The overall objective of the project is to develop a network of inventors in the North Calotte region to promote and provide services for the complete innovation/invention process, from the creation of an idea to the development of the commercial product. The goal is to counteract large companies from outside the region buying up patented business innovations. The network also gives international exposure to innovation and reduces obstacles caused by distance and national boundaries. Steps already taken include the development of a network of companies, where marketing skills and contacts are shared, and the creation of a joint service network to aid investors, prototype manufacturers, marketing and manufacturing companies. The project has succeeded in increasing contacts with almost 350 active inventors and has registered 785 new inventions. Seven new companies and four new manufacturing companies, as well as 34 jobs have been created. A total of 99 new marketing channels and 37 new customer contacts has been developed in order to launch these new inventions successfully on the market. This project has been instrumental in creating significant economic growth in this region to the value of 54 431 710 SEK.