Sub-goal 3: More innovative business clusters

These business support programmes effectively contribute to collaborative development at a large number of companies. They are designed to enable these groups of stakeholders to achieve positive effects that they would not be able to achieve on their own.

With 2,500 participating companies, we now have a strong national network of leading business clusters. In 2022, 39 clusters received services from the cluster programme and 96 business networks received services from the business network programme. There are also 11 agriculture-related networks, and 20 regions have received services from the regional transition programme.

In 2022, work commenced on further developing the portfolio of services that will support more innovative business clusters. There is a need to further strengthen links across different business support programmes and governmental business support agencies.

In the national budget for 2022, the allocation for the cluster programme Norwegian Innovation Clusters (NIC) was reduced by almost NOK 60 million compared with 2021. The reduction was equivalent to a cut of about 30 per cent. Therefore, Innovation Norway could not offer calls for admission to new clusters in the programme because the allocations went, in their entirety, to maintaining the funding for contracts that had already been signed. The reduction has been continued for 2023.

Cluster companies achieve considerable growth

Meanwhile, Innovation Norway worked actively with the clusters in the programme, and there have been ‘sparring’ and a number of skills development initiatives via the Learning and Development Platform (LUP). The application and reporting process was digitalised in 2021 and developed further in 2022 with the aim of simplifying and streamlining it and providing a better basis for knowledge and data. Innovation Norway also has a programme that funds EU advisers in the clusters. Participation in European collaborative projects and accelerator programmes may contribute to more funding and access to new networks and major new markets for Norwegian companies.

Tighter budgets and shifting framework conditions present a need to consider restructuring the cluster programme. Of particular and key importance is the need for a faster change of pace in the building of new green industries and value creation. The goal is to have a new programme in place in 2023, with a new call for proposals in 2024.

For companies participating in the cluster programmes, this year’s Economics Norway survey shows significant growth in the first three years for sales revenues (18.6 percentage points), value creation (15.8 percentage points), productivity (3.4 percentage points), and number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) (3.6 percentage points), compared with comparable companies that do not use Innovation Norway's services.

Residual funds become calls for project proposals

In autumn 2022, Innovation Norway became aware that residual, accumulated Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development funds linked to the cluster programme were available. These funds will be directed to support the county authorities’ business policy ambitions related to industrial symbioses, circular innovation, and cross-linked collaborations between companies and networks. The funds will not be used for admissions to new clusters, rather they will be used for calls for project proposals in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

The regional transition programme has been evaluated by the Telemark Research Institute on behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. It recommends a greater emphasis on attractive local communities and less emphasis on measuring jobs. The transition areas reported to Innovation Norway that they contributed to creating 232 new jobs and protected 371 jobs for 2022.