Conscious attempts are made to improve conditions for business so that the Nordic countries are able to remain affluent societies with high rates of employment. This work is done at regional and national, Nordic, European and international levels.

Nordic Co-operation Programme for Innovation and Business Policy 2011–2013

In the period 2011–2013, Nordic business policy co-operation is laid down in the Nordic Co-operation Programme for Innovation and Business Policy

Nordic businesses face major, common challenges in the next few years. Generating renewed growth in the wake of the recent economic crisis and coping with demographic challenges and climate change, for example. The trade ministers favour concentrating Nordic resources, working closely together and finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced.

The vision is for the Nordic Region to be a leading innovation region in green growth and welfare. This will be done by focusing on four interdisciplinary priorities: innovation, entrepreneurship, green growth and welfare. To generate tangible results, it has been decided to launch six lighthouse projects, which will focus on the four interdisciplinary priorities. The projects are:

• Nordic Innovation Forum: A forum with Nordic experts who will draft proposals for new initiatives designed to strengthen innovation in the Region.
• Joint Nordic CSR strategy: A joint Nordic CSR strategy will be drawn up with the aim is to promote responsible growth in the Nordic Region.
  Knowledge Centre for Entrepreneurship: The centre will focus on education and training in entrepreneurship by building on the Nordic countries' experiences and facilitating co-operation between institutions working in this area.
• Joint Nordic Programme for climate-friendly construction: The programme to promote holistic solutions for energy-efficient and climate-friendly construction. This will provide support for the construction industry in a way that will position the Region as a leading provider of climate-friendly solutions in Europe.
• Joint marketing of innovative Nordic companies: The marketing initiative will be launched to promote green technologies to forge contacts and open up access to foreign investors.
• Innovation though public-sector procurement and regulation: There will be co-operation on innovative public procurement, so that the Nordic countries can learn from each other, and have better understanding of existing legal frameworks.

We learn from each other

In many areas, the Nordic countries face the same challenges, but we often approach them differently. It is therefore important for countries to learn from each other and to enter into dialogue about more effective policies. This can be seen, for example, in the Nordic Innovation Monitor 2009, which is a survey of the countries' conditions for innovation. This takes a closer look at why the Nordic countries are good at innovation and which countries in the world we can learn from if we are to improve.

User-driven innovation

Another example is the co-operation on developing user-driven innovation as a policy area. User-driven innovation takes the needs of the end-user – acknowledged and unacknowledged – into account at the design stage.
Methods for user-driven innovation are applicable in both commercial and non-commercial contexts – i.e. in both companies and the public sector.

The Nordic Region – a single market

The Nordic countries wish to be at the forefront of the development of the inner market in the EU/EEA. As a result, it is vital that we remove obstacles to cross-border freedom of movement and trade barriers. The Nordic trade and industry ministers have primarily focused on the venture-capital market and the construction industry. The aim is that the Nordic Region will be an open region, one characterised by free competition that transcends national borders.
It is important to minimise barriers to cross-border freedom of movement in the construction industry – both for building materials and for craftspeople – so that we are better able to work across national borders, and develop a more efficient industry.
In some areas, Nordic co-operation is also used to find out which areas we will benefit from by working together, and influence the development of EU policies. For example, the work on removing obstacles to cross-border freedom of movement for venture capital has influenced the European work on the same issue.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' information service Hello Norden is designed for citizens and companies who require information and guidance on cross-border activities in the Nordic Region.

Nordic Innovation

Nordic Innovation is the Nordic Council of Ministers' most important instrument for promoting an innovative, knowledge-based business sector. Nordic Innovation launches and funds projects that promote innovation and co-operate with the business community, authorities and research in the Nordic countries.