Branding Nordic solutions for sustainable cities

Before summer 2017, Nordic Innovation opened for applications for grants for activities promoting Nordic solutions for sustainable, smart and liveable cities to relevant stakeholders from outside the Nordic region.

The total budget for the funding opportunity was NOK 1,5 million. We received a total of 28 applications for this funding opportunity, for a combined amount of NOK 9.374.271.

The general quality of proposed events and branding activities were high and after a thorough evaluation and ranking of the incoming applications, six project proposals have been granted funding.

Senior Innovation Adviser at Nordic Innovation, Hans Fridberg, was impressed with the overall quality of the applications received. However, he points out a few common characteristics of the six projects that were granted funding.

“The projects that were granted funding all had a strong Nordic consortium where all the partners played a true role. They had also carefully considered their stakeholders and assesed their expected impact in terms of export and building networks and the Nordic brand", says Fridberg.

"We encourage those who plan to apply to contact us in advance. A quick conversation might help you steer the application in the right direction and we might also be able to connect you to relevant partners in another Nordic country".

Read more about the second round of application for grants, which opened for applications 2 October. Deadline for applications is 8 December 2017.

The funded projects:

Nordic Edge China 

Chinese version of the Nordic Edge Expo conference in Stavanger, Norway. The Chinese event will serve as bridge between the Nordic region and China on smart cities, and will be held in January 2019.

Organisers: Nordic Edge, NTNU, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Demos Helsinki, Bright Planet

Contact person: Herbjørn Tjeltveit, herbjorn@nordicedge.org

Open Innovation Days (OID): Smart City Challenges for 100 Smart Cities program in India

Successful event concept from the Nordic region applied to five cities in India. The concept involves matching solution providers and customers, and will be held in spring 2018.

Organisers: Climate KIC, Quercus Group ApS, National Institute of Urban Affairs, NAVIGO, Business Region Gothenburg, Indian Smart City Network

Contact person: Peter Vangsbo, peter.vangsbo@climate-kic.org

Sustainable Urban Solutions – Partner with the Nordics

Business-focused side event for the Clean Energy Ministerial & Mission Innovation in Copenhagen, May 2018.

Organisers: CLEAN, Innovasion Norge, Tillväxtverket, Finpro, Promote Iceland, Cleantech Scandinavia, Climate-KIC Nordic

Contact person: Michael Johansen, mij@cleancluster.dk

Joint Nordic Pavilion at IE Expo 2018

A joint pavilion at the leading Chinese exposition for clean tech, the IE Expo in July 2018.

Organisers: The Trade Council of Denmark, Finpro, Innovation Norway

Contact person: Yike Qin, yikqin@um.dk

Nordic Urban Mobility Innovation

The Nordic Urban Mobility Innovation (NUMI) project will showcase how Nordic cities and startups are developing new urban mobility solutions to reduce car traffic. The project is an alliance between several small and innovative Nordic startups.

Organisers: CityTrike, Clean Motion AB, Tuup Oy Ltd, Velove, Ewii Mobility, Electric Mobility Network

Contact person: Morten Rynning, morten@citytrike.no

India Urban Lab

A workshop or urban lab that brings together Nordic companies and experts with city officials, relevant companies and organisations in Panaji, a city in the Indian state of Goa. Panaji is part of the 100 Smart Cities program in India. The urban lab will be held in December 2018.

Organisers: Global Utmaning, Suomi-Finland Housing and Planning Association, The Royal Danish Embassy in India, Integrated Design Bangalore, The City of Panaji

Contact person: Ditte Amskov, d.amskov@ifhp.org