Report: Norway benefits from the EU's research and innovation programme
The Norwegian Contact Office for Research, Innovation and Education in Brussels (Norcore) is a partnership between the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir). For ten years, we have worked to promote Norwegian interests in research, education and innovation in the EU.
The office monitors developments and provides Norwegian stakeholders with up-to-date insights into EU research, education and innovation policy, while working to ensure that Norwegian interests are heard.
The tenth anniversary was celebrated today at Norway House in Brussels. Those attending included CEOs Håkon Haugli of Innovation Norway and Mari Sundli Tveit of the Research Council of Norway, EVP Sveinung Skule of HK-dir, and Secretary General Dag Thomas Gisholt of the Ministry of Education and Research.
Report: Norway should join the EU Competitiveness Fund
They were presented with findings from a recent evaluation and socio-economic analysis of Norway's participation in the EU's Horizon Europe programme, conducted by Samfunnsøkonomisk Analyse (SØA) in collaboration with Technopolis.
The report shows that Norway has benefited significantly from participating in the research and innovation programme, and that the impacts are closely aligned with the strategic objectives for Norway's participation. SØA concludes that Norway should join the EU's new Competitiveness Fund, which will launch in 2028.
The fund will serve as a shared European source of funding for companies that develop, test and adopt new technology – from the idea stage to full-scale industrialisation – and will bring together 14 existing EU funds in a new 'superfund'.
We support SØA's main conclusion that Norway must participate fully in the European Competitiveness Fund.
‘Norway currently receives more from Horizon Europe than we contribute, so there is significant potential. However, the greatest benefit lies in the expertise, networks and markets that create value across Norway,’ says our CEO, Håkon Haugli.
The Knowledge Office provides insight, networks and influence
He emphasises the importance of our presence in Brussels, alongside organisations such as the Research Council of Norway and HK-dir, to provide a vital link between communities in the EU capital and Norwegian stakeholders.
'At a time when competitiveness, innovation and security are high on the EU agenda, it is vital for Norway to stay closely engaged. The Norwegian House of Research and Innovation in Brussels gives us a unique combination of insight, networks and influence, enabling us to connect Norwegian businesses and research communities more closely with European partnerships,' says Haugli.
Mari Sundli Tveit of the Research Council of Norway and Sveinung Skule of the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills share this view.
‘Our collaboration with Innovation Norway and HK-dir allows us to combine our strengths for the common good. The pace in the EU has accelerated, and policy and research are much more closely linked than before. That is why our joint office in Brussels is more important than ever,’ says Tveit.
‘Today, the EU has an overarching competitiveness policy that shapes its education, research and innovation programmes in a completely different way than before. This makes it at least as relevant as ever for all three organisations to work together at the Knowledge Office,’ says Skule.