Invitation to tender: Barriers to Commercialisation in the Nordics

1. Introduction

Nordic Innovation is seeking to contract a Supplier (Project Manager) to conduct a study of barriers to commercialisation in the Nordic region. The supplier shall be responsible for the planning and execution of the study and shall also present the study’s findings in a final report and through other forms of dissemination.

1.1. The buyer

Nordic Innovation is an organization under the Nordic Council of Ministers working to promote cross-border trade and innovation. The Nordic Council of Ministers is the official intergovernmental body for cooperation in the Nordic region. With 26 million inhabitants in the Nordic region, the Nordic Co-operation is one of the most comprehensive regional co-operations in the world.

Nordic Innovation is implementing the Nordic Prime Ministers’ Vision 2030 for the Nordic cooperation. Its mandate is to contribute to making the Nordics a leading region for sustainable growth and to increase entrepreneurship, innovation, and competitiveness in the Nordic region. Nordic Innovation supports programs and projects to stimulate innovation and works to improve the framework conditions for Nordic markets and exports.

For further information, please refer to the following webpages:

• Nordic Innovation - http://www.nordicinnovation.org
• Nordic Council of Ministers – http://www.norden.org  

1.2. Background

This assignment is a part of the thematic programme Innovative Solutions for 2030. The programme seeks to accelerate the use and commercialisation of green and circular solutions, with the aim of showing tangible results by the year 2030.

Commercialisation refers to the process of making a product or service viable on a commercial market. How smooth that process is has a considerable impact on an economy’s overall competitiveness. Recent analyses – not least the Draghi Report (2024) – have warned that European countries are falling behind other parts of the world when it comes to commercialisation and, consequently, competitiveness. Although the Nordic countries generally outperform other parts of Europe in terms of innovation capacity, here too there are factors that hamper commercialisation relative to global competitors. The EU Innovation Scoreboard also makes clear that there are differences between the Nordic countries when it comes to commercialisation barriers.

This situation has knock-on effects for the green transition. To reach the goals that have been set for 2030, new technologies and and ways of working need to be put to use in products and services across value chains in all sectors – but for that to happen, those products and services must be commercially viable and commercialised with speed.

The main purpose of this tender process is to determine a relevant role for Nordic Innovation towards 2030, and to lay the foundation for a joint Nordic approach under Nordic Innovation’s mandate. In this context the ability of Nordic business to commercialise – and next, to scale -  is a prerequisite for competitiveness.

2. The procurement scope and deliverables

In this assignment, the Supplier shall carry out a study of current and potential future barriers to commercialisation in the Nordic region.[1] These barriers can be regulatory, economic, technical, or social and cultural – what matters is that they in some way keep new solutions from reaching the market, i.e. Nordic or international markets.

The study should look at a variety of sectors but have a particular focus on solutions that could contribute to the green transition. It should encompass the entire Nordic region, highlighting both shared barriers and barriers that are specific only to some of the Nordic countries. Moreover, based on the study the supplier shall make recommendations for tackling the identified barriers. We are looking for specific recommendations on the role of Nordic Innovation in this regard. This could include ideas for concrete collaborative initiatives in the Nordics.

During the assignment, the Supplier shall deliver the following:

• An interim report describing initial findings and outstanding questions (halfway through the assignment period).
• A final report describing and analysing findings and presenting recommendations to Nordic Innovation, , businesses, and other stakeholders (at the end of the assignment period).
• A presentation of the final report and its findings and recommendations in a suitable forum (at the end of the assignment period).

2.1. Methodology

It will be up to the Supplier to propose how to conduct the task (i.e. design, develop, and run the assignment). The Supplier shall demonstrate how the proposed process will achieve the desired outcome of this study.

The supplier will be expected to build on previous and ongoing work of relevance, hereunder e.g. the Draghi Report (2024) and relevant national or Nordic initiatives.

2.2. Supplier’s role and responsibilities

• Establish and manage the project goals and work plan
• Manage project budget and the day-to-day financial controlling of the whole project
• Final report
• A Powerpoint slide deck that summarises the main findings of the final report
• The Supplier is responsible for the communication and coordination of communication with Nordic Innovation.
• Give visibility to the objectives and ambitions of the Tender and the activities during the assignment period.
• The Supplier can be a single entity, or a consortium represented by a lead partner.

All communication and deliverables should follow the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Design manual: Design manual Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Council (norden.org) . The report should be produced in InDesign or similar after the specifications in the Design manual.

Nordic Innovation shall be the Project owner.

2.3. Project duration and process

The assignment should be completed, and the final report delivered, no later than 20 May 2026.

3. Procurement value and terms

The procurement value of this invitation to tender is 500 000 NOK (excluding VAT). This includes all work, travel costs and other costs for the Supplier.

4. Administrative provisions

4.1. Tendering procedure

The Supplier is strongly encouraged to follow the instructions contained in this Tender Document, including attachments, and to pose possible questions by e-mail to emil.gejrot@nordicinnovation.org labelled with “Supplier, Commercialisation barriers”.

4.2. Tender documents

The Tender Document shall be a maximum of 5 pages (excl. CVs). The Tender Document should address the award criteria (please see section 5).

The Tender shall be submitted in English in a single pdf-file.

4.3. Deadline and delivery

The Tender must be received by the Buyer no later than 07.01.2026 at 16:00 CET.The Tender shall be delivered via email to emil.gejrot@nordicinnovation.org and nina.egeli@nordicinnovation.org, and labelled with:

“Tender: Commercialisation barriers”

Tenders or any other documents received after the Tender deadline will not be considered.

Please note that the dates can be subject to change.

If necessary, up to three tenderers may be invited for a digital interview with an evaluation panel.

Cooperation with Nordic Innovation will be agreed in more detail at the beginning of the contract period.

4.4. Tender validity date

The Tender shall be valid for a minimum of 90 days from the submission deadline.

4.5. Cancellation

The Buyer reserves the right to cancel this tender at any time.

5. Award criteria and evaluation

All Suppliers that fulfil the formal requirements will be evaluated by an evaluation panel. The panel will consist of experts from Nordic Innovation.

6. Appendices

Appendix A: General conditions for purchase of services