Hvordan påvirket pandemien livskvaliteten til barn og unge i Norden? Det var temaet for konferansen “Blir alt bra? Pandemiens konsekvenser for barn og unge i Norden” som fant sted i Oslo 10. november 2022. Konferansen ble arrangert av Norges forskningsråd og NordForsk, med støtte fra Kunnskapsdepartementet, og var en del av programmet for Norges formannskap i Nordisk ministerråd.

The science systems in Russia and, even more so, the Baltic States have undergone radical change in the years following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Although this report does not aim to provide a thorough description of the Soviet science system1, it is nevertheless useful to give a very brief outline of the structures which Baltic and Russian policy-makers were confronting at the outset of systemic reforms in the early 1990s.

This survey conducted among participants in Nordic research network and research training course activities in the 1999-2005 period shows that 90% of the project participants continue collaborating after Nordic funding has ended.

One in five respondents have applied for EU funding as a direct result of the Nordic collaboration.

More than half the activities included partners from the Baltic countries, 28% involved partners from Russia.

Eight in ten would find it impossible to carry out their activity without the support fromNordForsk (or former NorFA).

Most respondents find the application procedures clear and easily accessible. NordForsk is not perceived to be overly bureaucratic, and most people are satisfied with their communication with the responsible NordForsk staff.

This Fast Track publication is a collection of policy brief articles written by Nordic researchers participating in collaborative projects funded by NordForsk or Nordic Energy Research. NordForsk is aiming for this publication to contribute relevant and up-to-date research-based knowledge that facilitates the analysis of the challenges and opportunities of Nordic co-operation in the coming years. The articles are original and written in April and May 2023 in response to a NordForsk call for policy brief articles to invited researchers and research groups.

The 33 articles in this publication are broadly divided into three chapters. The challenges, opportunities, and consequences of digitalisation in our societies are discussed in the first, followed by the natural environment, climate, green energy, the bioeconomy, and healthy food systems of the Nordic Region in the second. The third and final chapter comprises articles debating the Nordic Region and relations with neighbouring countries, including research on migration, integration and how to preserve and promote safe and healthy Nordic welfare societies.

The papers provide status overviews, descriptions of opportunities and obstacles, and ambitious recommendations for Nordic co-operation and how the vision can be delivered by 2030.

A discussion paper for the Nordic Heads of Research Councils (NORDHORCS).

This essay presents a reflective synthesis of the findings of the fourresearch projects funded through the Nordic initiative on Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities between 2000 and 2024. Sustainable urban development is understood by this initiative to broadly address and solve the social, economic, and environmental challenges of cities by promoting quality of life, with the ultimate goal of making cities inclusive, safe, and resilient (UN Sustainable Development Goal 11).

Begrebet ”Nordic added value” er i stigende grad blevet anvendt som et vejledende princip for det tværministerielle nordiske samarbejde og dets tilknyttede institutioner. Der er dog en vedvarende fornemmelse blandt interessenter i det nordiske samarbejde af, at den præcise betydning af begrebet ”Nordic added value” er uklar. Der er også usikkerhed omkring, hvordan begrebet kan operationaliseres i praksis. Fortolkningerne af begrebet og dets betydning varierer fra sektor til sektor inden for det nordiske samarbejde såvel som fra person til person.

The concept of Nordic added value has increasingly come to serve as a guiding principle of inter-ministerial Nordic co-operation and its related institutions. However, there is an enduring sense among stakeholders in Nordic co-operation that the exact meaning of the concept of “Nordic added value” is unclear, along with uncertainty around how the concept can be operationalised in practice. Interpretations of the concept and its significance vary from sector to sector of Nordic co-operation as well as from person to person.

Overview of results and effects reported by NordForsk funded projects reported in our submission period 2023. The report contains data on publications, policy influence, dissemination activities and other impact indicators.

A publication from the NORIA-net "The use of bibliometrics in research policy and evaluation activities". The first report of the NORIA-net provides readers with essential information and perspectives on current and future possibilities to reach excellence in Nordic research. It identifies the fields in which the Nordic countries already are strong and in some cases even excellent, and it highlights challenges and possible ways to prevent future problems. Editor: Magnus Gunnarsson, Swedish Research Council (2010).

Rapporten är framtagen av NordForsk för att belysa nordiskt samarbete inom forskningens område från många olika perspektiv. Vi har inbjudit olika typer av aktörer att beskriva sina erfarenheter och åsikter på ett personligt sätt; många röster och många olika språk har fått utrymme i denna bok.

How do we respond when we are faced with the repercussions of our interactions with nature? Gudmund Hernes, researcher, Professor of sociology and former Norwegian minister, sets out assertions and theses as a basis for debate. Only when we understand how and why we have reacted so far can we take effective action.

This report summarises previous and ongoing calls, as well as the research being funded, in the Nordic countries, identifying the broad categories of COVID-19 related research. The mapping exercise includes all areas of research, not limited to  relevance to societal security or long-term effects on society, but only to relevance to COVID-19. However, the summary highlights the research that has been funded within social sciences and effects on society. 

NordForsk was established by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2005 and has funded more than 323 research projects and other activities over the years. NordForsk collaborates closely with the national research funding organisations in the Nordic countries. Since 2017, NordForsk has reached the goal of two-thirds of the budget coming from national research funders, and the remaining one-third coming from Nordic Council of Ministers. The remaining one-third of the budget has come from the basic funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The portfolio analysis Ten years of Nordic Research Funding 2009–2018 explores the development and distributions of funding to Nordic research cooperation within NordForsk during the years 2009–2018. NordForsk has in this period granted NOK 2 124 million to Nordic research cooperation through 49 calls. Out of the 1 358 unique applicants set as project leader, 323 have been granted funding.

At least 2 640 researchers are involved as project leaders or participating researchers in funded Project Grants, Nordic Centres of Excellence and Nordic University Hubs. The proportions of female and male involved researchers have become more balanced in recent years, with precisely 50 per cent female and male researchers in grants awarded in 2018.

Male project leaders have been granted 66 per cent of the total funding 2009–2018. Among the total submitted applications, 39 percent have a female project leader and 61 per cent a male project leader. The total approval rate is 14 per cent for both female and male project leaders. The results indicate that more male project leaders than female apply for calls with the highest grant allocations.

Project leaders from Norway have had the highest approval rate (19 per cent) for calls for Project Grants, Nordic Centres of Excellence and Nordic University Hubs. Swedish project leaders have received the largest percentage of funding (30 per cent), followed by Norwegian (26 per cent) and Danish (23 per cent). This does not take into account that the nature of NordForsk funding means that it is distributed to involved researchers in several Nordic countries. We see that among involved researchers, the largest group is from the same country as the Project leader. Further, female project leaders tend to lead a more balanced group of female and male researchers than male project leaders.

All 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are, to some extent, addressed in the research funded since 2013. Thematic calls that encourage or require interdiscipli¬narity are common in the NordForsk portfolio, and most project leaders (68 per cent) also consider their research to be more interdisciplinary than disciplinary. Since 2013, NordForsk has funded research within all research areas. The largest percentage of funding has gone to research within Medical and Health Sciences, most common in Project Grants. Natural and Social Sciences have been funded to a similar degree, especially within Nordic Centres of Excellence and Nordic University Hubs. Within Nordic University Hubs most of the funding to Humanities and the Arts as well as Engineering and Technology can be found.

A large part of funded research (77 per cent) is considered Strategic Basic Research or Applied Research. Almost half of funded research is either Pure Basic or Strategic Basic Research. 12 per cent is considered Experimental Development.

A report on how research funding institutions in the Nordic countries define and measure the impact of research. It highlights the complexity of assessing impacts that go beyond academic contributions to include societal, economic, and policy impact, emphasising the need for efficent infrastructure and meaningful operationalisation of impact.

Hvad er samfundssikkerhed? Samfundssikkerhed omfatter blandt andet et samfunds evne til at opretholde vitale fornødenheder og sikre befolkningers liv, sundhed, basale behov og grundlæggende værdier under ekstraordinære belastninger, kendt som kriser.

What is societal security? Societal security comprises the ability of a society to sustain vital societal functions and secure its population’s life, health, needs and basic values under extraordinary stresses, known as crises.

This report examines the concept of Nordic added value in Nordic research co-operation that is facilitated and funded by NordForsk under the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Nordic added value is the key guiding principle of Nordic research co-operation from the implementation of research programmes to the evaluation of funding applications and monitoring of research impact.

The report aims to enhance the understanding and operationalisation of the concept by examining it from both conceptual and practical perspectives.

The report gives an overview of the existing legislation in the Nordic countries regarding the collection and re-use of health-related personal data in medical research. It also looks at how ethical review is integrated in the regulatory frameworks, including in the European general data protection regulation that will come into force May 2018.

Overview of results and effects from 10 years of research on societal security.

The Nordic countries have individually and jointly identified the potential of secondary use of health data in research, health care and innovation. There is a need to enhance data quality and interoperability and make data machine-readable in order to lay the foundation for open science and innovation. Obstacles that impede data sharing such as legal, technical and procedural bottlenecks must be removed.

This NordForsk report proposes a step-wise implementation of a Nordic Commons for health data building on national efforts. It would allow expansion to the Nordic level, with data more easily identified, shared, compiled and jointly analysed, and would give the Nordic region a competitive advantage. The Nordic Commons will provide a platform for conducting reproducible and open research for the benefit of Nordic public health and societies.

The report includes suggestions for policy implications with specific recommendations directed towards the key actors required to implement a Nordic commons, e.g. the Nordic policy level, research and innovation funders, and data owners. Careful, coordinated and concrete actions are called for by all of these actors to realise the Nordic commons.

NordForsk has together with the national research funders in the Nordics financed four large Nordic Centres of Excellence on Arctic research. This report summarises the results from the centres. The number of publications, disseminations and other outcomes are impressive. The report also demonstrates that collaborations across the Nordics create great Nordic added value.

During spring 2021, following an accelerated collaboration process initiated and facilitated by NordForsk, more than 160 Nordic leaders participated and contributed at webinars and online workshops. Among the attendees were top-level leaders from all Nordic countries and from across all sectors and parts of the research, education and innovation systems. In this report – which takes the form of an inspiration catalogue – we share the most important and valuable content and points of inspiration formulated and collected during this process.

Det systematiske søket om integrering av innvandrere i Norden ble gjort av Andreas Anker, Elin Hammer Tveito og Mathias Sunde Valseth. Alle sammen er bachelorstudenter på bibliotek- og informasjonsvitenskap ved Oslomet. Oppdraget fra NordForsk var blant annet å foreta et søk etter forskning som omhandlet integrering av flyktninger i Norden i perioden 2000 til 2022. Søkene ble gjort på engelsk og skandinaviske språk i syv forskjellige databaser.

Overview of results and effects reported by active NordForsk funded projects reported in our submission period 2024. The report contains data on publications, policy influence, dissemination activities and other impact indicators.

Overview of results and effects reported by NordForsk funded projects in 2021 and 2022.

The report contains data on publications, policy influence, dissemination activities and other impact indicators.

Research-led best practice on how to cater for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the Nordic Region.

This report has been prepared for the Nordic e-Infrastructure Collaboration (NeIC) Board to facilitate future decisions in the Nordic region in the area of high performance computing and related topics. An external expert, Dr. Robert Pennington, Deputy Director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was engaged as a special advisor to NeIC for the project. He consulted with Nordic researchers, Nordic HPC systems staff, NeIC staff, as well as other researchers who have been engaged in similar activities in other countries. 

The current report is an update of the reports on Legislation on biotechnology in the Nordic countries published annually since 2014. Given the clear need for such overviews, the Nordic Committee on Bioethics decided to update the tables to reflect recent legal amendments. The aim of this report is to give the reader information on the current status in the different countries and a chance to compare the legal situation.

Legislation on Biotechnology in the Nordic Countries - an overview 2022

These recommendations are based on the Synthesis Essay reflecting on and outlining the findings of four research projects funded through the Nordic initiative on Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities.

A publication from the NORIA-net "The use of bibliometrics in research policy and evaluation activities". This is the second report from this NORIA network. The report provides readers with essential information and perspectives on current and future possibilities to reach excellence in Nordic research. It identifies the fields in which the Nordic countries already are strong and in some cases even excellent, and it highlights challenges and possible ways to prevent future problems.

Temaet i dette års udgave af magasinet er de nordiske registre og det spændende arbejde, som nordiske forskere gennemfører, når de får adgang til registrene.

The theme of this year’s magazine is Nordic registries and the exciting collaborative work Nordic researchers are able to perform when granted joint registry access.

This report investigates Research Infrastructure activities in the Nordic countries and discuss with the Nordic Research Infrastructure Co-operation Committee (NRICC), what measures can be taken to strengthen Research Infrastructure cooperation at the Nordic level.

Distribution of health is one of the challenges facing the Nordic countries and Europe. Although health and life expectancy have improved in the Nordic countries, inequalities in the distribution of health persist. The difference in mortality rates among different socio-economic groups, for instance, has grown greater. Although inequalities in the distribution of health may be viewed as a health-economic problem, this is above all an egalitarian issue related to the future development of the welfare state.

The report gives an overview of research activities, funding and funding systems of relevance to research on health and welfare-related issues in the Nordic countries 2005-2010. Based on these findings, the report also provides policy recommendations to Nordic political circles, research funding agencies and NordForsk.

A lot of exciting new developments within the Nordic e-Infrastructure Collaboration (NeIC) took place during 2018, which will help shape the way NeIC works in the years to come. In this report you can read more about the achievements in 2018 as well as get an update on the current status and thinking around our next generation strategy.

As markets are opening up and capital, talent and other resources are becoming more mobile, the competition for investments in research and innovation has become increasingly fierce and continues to intensify.

Against this background, a case can be made for initiating a joint Nordic effort aimed at profiling the region in the global marketplace in order to attract foreign investments in research and innovation. On a global market, the individual Nordic countries are very small and may find it difficult to make their voices heard. At the same time, the region has a long history of regional collaboration and several collaborative projects and Nordic initiatives are already underway to address the challenges of globalization. While there are certainly differences among the countries, in a global context the similarities are far more important.

Hence, the ambition of the NordForsk policy brief “Branding the Nordic Research and Innovation Area” is two-fold; Firstly, to create a branding methodology which takes the special conditions of the Nordic region and the notion of research and innovation investments as point of departure. Secondly, to put forward a suggestion for a branding strategy, firmly grounded in Nordic strengths and set within the emerging global context of research and innovation investments.

This report is both an update and an extension of two previous reports with the same title: “Comparing Research at Nordic Universities using Bibliometric Indicators” from 2011 and 2014. With the current report’s use of more years, more institutions and more subject fields, the figures are not directly comparable to the figures in the former two. Therefore, it should not be seen as an update of the former two reports; rather it replaces these.

The main conclusion of the report is that we find relatively stable differences between the Nordic universities, university colleges and university hospitals. We find different research profiles and specialisations, and we find institutions with different volumes of research activity. By describing these differences, we want to bring attention to dimensions that one-dimensional global university rankings cannot capture.

Some Nordic higher education institutions score on a very high international level with regard to citation impact and shares of highly cited papers, at least in some of the major areas of research, while most Nordic institutions do not, although the majority of them perform above the world average. “World class” research is being conducted at a few Nordic institutions, but not at most of them.

The present report “Comparing Research at Nordic Universities using Bibliometric Indicators, Second report, covering the years 2000–2012” is replacing the previous report from 2011 covering the years 2000-2009, basically building on the same methodology but adding more information. In this second report, publications from the social sciences and the humanities are included (not in citation analysis), and new time intervals are applied. Both reports use data from Thomson Reuters and a Nordic network for validating the data, developing the indicators and analysing the results. The discussions in the network have been paramount for the production of this second version and the presentation of data.

A publication from the NORIA-net "Bibliometric Indicators for the Nordic Universities".

In this working paper, we have used national publication databases in the Nordic countries to compare research in social sciences and the humanities in the higher education institutions. The findings are based on a data material that does not meet the same standards as the data used in the new NordForsk report Comparing Research at Nordic Higher Education Institutions – Covering the years 1999-2014, where Nordic higher education institutions are compared based on publication data from Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science. The results documented in this short report, are of an exploratory nature, and should be interpreted and cited as such as well.

The purpose of this study has been to explore the possibility of comparing publishing in the Nordic countries within social sciences and the humanities using existing national data. It is our opinion that these databases do not meet the necessary requirements for unification or reliability. For a potential study in the future, we recommend that a larger project use this report as a pilot study and perform similar analysis (and many more not performed here) after a complete standardisation and verification of the five Nordic countries’ data sets. That would enable NordForsk and the Nordic community of higher education institutions to get a more accurate picture of Nordic differences in these two fields, which is not possible today due to their inadequate coverage in the Web of Science.

The overall conclusion of this report is that there are too many data limitations to make reliable cross-country comparisons of publishing in social sciences and the humanities in the Nordic countries. The results presented in this report should therefore not be cited as official documentation of Nordic publishing in these fields, but rather as a pilot study using an inadequate data set.

This report consists of two studies, each providing extensive data on researcher mobility in the Nordic region and beyond. In each of the reports different aspects of researcher mobility is analyzed with the help of a wide range of data and varied methodological approaches. This makes the description rich in terms of perspectives on mobility and underlines the complexity of the issue. Together they provide a basis for understanding patterns and trends of researcher mobility across the Nordic region as well as different types of incentives and obstacles promoting and inhibiting such mobility.

The Education for Tomorrow programme was launched by NordForsk in 2013. The aim is to generate new knowledge about the Nordic educational systems that will better equip the Nordic countries to meet the needs of society – today and in the future.

The research projects in the first phase of the programme have now been completed, and has generated new knowledge on a broad range of themes: The Nordic Centre of Excellence, JustEd, have done research on how systems, cultures and actors in education facilitate and constrain justice in the context of globalising Nordic welfare states. Furthermore, other research projects have investigated values education in Nordic preschools, education for immigrant students, skills acquisition at different ages, vocational education and training, and transformation of the higher education systems in the Nordic countries.

This report summarises key research findings and their implications for educational policies in the Nordic countries. It concludes the first phase of the programme, which has entered into a second phase focusing on bridging the gap between research and practice.

Excellent research infrastructures are a prerequisite for conducting competitive research of high international quality in dynamic environments. Thus, research infrastructures are topics of common interest for the Nordic countries where Nordic cooperation can make an international contribution.

The NORIA-net "Nordic Research Infrastructure Network" (NRIN) was initiated as a preparatory action in order to strengthen Nordic cooperation on research infrastructure policies, strategies and funding. NRIN has focused on describing similarities and differences between the Nordic countries on research infrastructure policies and aimed to identify actions suitable for cooperation. Although existing national research infrastructure roadmaps are not directly comparable, research infrastructures prioritised in all or most of the Nordic countries, will serve as a platform for increasing Nordic cooperation.

NRIN recommends that efforts are put into current initiatives which have a direct impact on Nordic research infrastructure cooperation. This report contains recommendations on how to expand and add value to Nordic research infrastructure cooperation. The major national research funding agencies in the Nordic countries have been members of NRIN.

"Nordic participation in the EU Framework Programmes - Best practices and lessons learned". The Policy Briefs 1-3 2011 describe and analyse key aspects of Nordic research cooperation in a European context, both at the research policy and -strategy level. This report looks into Nordic researchers' participation in FP7 compared to FP6, the outcome of participation, as well as main challenges and success criteria for participation. By NIFU and Technopolis in cooperation with NordForsk (2011).