Troms and Finnmark – Vadsø

Key Activities in 2022

• The business sector in Eastern Finnmark was impacted by the sanctions against Russia and Belarus stemming from Russia’s war on Ukraine. Because of this, Innovation Norway was assigned an extraordinary mission where the purpose was to contribute to the realignment and development of business. This is being followed up with proactive work, seminars, and meetings with companies.
• We have been very busy within agriculture, both within traditional agriculture and in relation to generational changes. In 2022, a FRAM Agro programme was started in Troms og Finnmark. The programme is aimed at dairy farms that are planning to convert from stall barns to loose housing, as well as generational changes. Some 12 farms are taking part in the programme.
• The Covid pandemic hit the tourism industry hard and in 2022 we followed up the transition projects that were given grants in 2020 and 2021. Many companies have focused on nature-based product development and the transition projects have also resulted in several companies becoming eco-certified and several destinations working with the Sustainable Destination labelling scheme.
• In 2022, we carried out a programme of upskilling and conferences in partnership with, among others, the county authority, Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF), Arctic Innovation Week (AIW), and NODA in order to strengthen a weakened creative sector. We also worked to increase cooperation between companies, and we facilitated cooperation between the public and private sectors.
• Arctic Innovation Week was organised for the fourth time in 2022. In the past few years, AIW has been a collaboration between Innovation Norway Nordland and Innovation Norway Arctic in close interaction with the rest of the ecosystem. The result is one of Norway’s largest innovation initiatives with a catchment area of Nordland, Troms, Finnmark, and Svalbard. In 2022, there was a particular spotlight on young people via a collaboration with Troms og Finnmark County Authority and Young Entrepreneurship (UE).

Funding in 2022

The figures shown below apply to Troms and Finnmark.