Strategy and initiatives

In spring 2004, the principal board approved a strategic direction and a brand strategy for Innovation Norway. This strategy took into account the government documents and political guidelines and established first and foremost a common basis for the successful integration of the activities.

Strategies and policies were subsequently developed in many fields, linked to all our products. At an overall level, an internationalisation strategy was developed during 2006.

The internationalisation strategy

The internationalisation strategy, together with the strategic organisation development projects, Project Management and Services 2007, is being implemented within the organisation on an ongoing basis. In order to create a common culture and understanding of Innovation Norway’s mandate, the management has sought out and established a dialogue with every employee in the organisation’s offices around the world. This will result in improved co-operation and a clearer understanding of roles and responsibilities, so that customer and project management “from Bodø to Beijing” is better coordinated.

Skaperen: Strong promotion

Innovation Norway developed a communication strategy at an early stage which placed great emphasis on raising the profile of the organisation. The programme Skaperen (“The Creator”), which was produced in collaboration with TV2, was one of the biggest promotion initiatives of 2006 and 2007. Our input to this programme was targeted at promoting both entrepreneurship and Innovation Norway.
Together with many other promotion initiatives, the activities have resulted in over 90% of Norwegian companies being aware of Innovation Norway. Alongside this, expectations concerning our deliveries have increased.

Strategy and the innovation report

The current strategy placed its primary focus on summarising the mandate and expectations of the new organisation from both authorities and industry and facilitating effective and sound integration. The work on the new strategy will run parallel to the work on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s impending innovation report. New and updated knowledge from this work will become important knowledge within the strategic work.

13 Priority areas

Innovation Norway has identified 13 priority areas, where “a special effort is to be made with respect to a target group or market area anchored in the strategy. This effort is to be channelled through established services and programmes and will have a well-developed strategic direction and justification”.

A brief description of these initiatives is presented below.

Network-based innovation and adaptation
Through this initiative, Innovation Norway is aiming to encourage development processes in business networks, clusters and regions, based on cooperation between companies, knowledge players and the public sector.

Small and medium-sized enterprises with international growth ambitions
This initiative aims to help Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and become profitable by stimulating the development of competitive advantages in international markets based on the market-oriented, innovative and strategic use of internationally leading expertise, market knowledge, networks and financing.

The entrepreneur initiative
The entrepreneur initiative consists of an effective broad initiative combined with a targeted initiative aimed at top and growth entrepreneurs. The overall aim of Innovation Norway’s entrepreneur initiative is to increase the number of profitable start-ups.

The women’s initiative
Innovation Norway’s initiative aimed at women is focussed on strengthening the position and participation of women in industry and on raising the profile of this participation, on building networks for women in industry and on ensuring that an adequate proportion of Innovation Norway’s funds and resources is used on the part of industry in which women participate.

The young people’s initiative
Innovation Norway’s initiative aimed at young people under the age of 35 is organised in the same way as the initiative aimed at women. We want to ensure that special projects are initiated which are targeted at the participation of young people in the start-up of commercial ventures and industrial development in general, while also ensuring that an adequate proportion of the funds is used on businesses and projects in which young people take part.

The food and agricultural initiative
The food and agricultural initiative covers all services aimed at traditional agriculture/primary production, alternative industrial development associated with agricultural properties and agricultural resources and special programmes within the food, bioenergy, timber and reindeer farming value chains.

The seafood initiative
The seafood initiative covers the use of all of Innovation Norway’s tools within all areas of the seafood industry. The industry consists of the value chains within both aquaculture and fisheries. In addition to fish, the initiative covers all living organisms from the sea: the entire commercial value chain from the earliest phase through to the consumer.

The travel and tourism initiative
Innovation Norway’s travel and tourism initiative will contribute to increased added value in the Norwegian travel and tourism industries. The orientation of the travel and tourism initiative is based on the guidelines in the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s letter of assignment and the “Action Plan for the Travel Industries”.

The oil and gas initiative
This initiative aims to co-ordinate and be a prime-mover with respect to the sector’s approximately one hundred large suppliers with significant international turnover and involvement and to contribute to the development of national and international meeting places, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.

The health initiative
The health industry is a sector experiencing strong growth and, compared with our neighbouring countries, Norway has a need to accelerate the pace of innovation within this field. The Norwegian health service also has a considerable need for new products and solutions and a larger share of Norwegian deliveries will give considerable national added value.

The energy and environment initiative
The aim of this initiative is to increase market shares for the Norwegian supplier industry, through a faster pace of innovation and commercialisation. The focus areas are renewable energy, new energy technology and the environment.

The ICT initiative
The sector work relating to information and communication technology (ICT) is primarily targeted at the internationalisation of the Norwegian ICT industry. Through this initiative, Innovation Norway is looking to encourage sector and branch initiatives aimed at Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprise who want to work on an international stage.

The maritime initiative
Innovation Norway’s maritime initiative is linked to the government and the industry’s maritime initiative: MARUT (maritime development). Innovation Norway’s goal for this maritime initiative is to contribute to value creation and to industrial development in the maritime value chain, and to strengthen the competitiveness of the industry.