The Nordic countries are reassessing system adequacy due to the changing security situation and the evolution of the energy system in the green transition. Previously, the energy-only market was seen as providing sufficient investment incentives, but Nordic ministries are now considering European tools like Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms (CRM) and the Non-Fossil Flexibility Support Scheme (NFFSS). To support decision-making, the Electricity Markets Group commissioned a study on design options and their fit for Nordic needs. Before implementing a CRM or NFFSS, it is crucial to assess whether intervention is necessary. Market-wide CRMs are costly and should only be introduced if justified. Mechanisms must incentivise viable solutions, distribute costs fairly, and align with EU regulations while minimising market distortions.

For persons with disabilities, AI can offer plenty of opportunities. But at the same time, concerns about human rights, participation, accessibility and gender equality in the use of AI are raised. The Nordic ministers of Health and Social Affaris together with the Nordic and Baltic ministers of Digitalisation have committed to promote participation of persons with disabilities through inclusive, fair and accessible artificial intelligence in this ministerial declaration.

This report explores recent changes in paid parental leave schemes across the Nordic countries and their contribution to sustainable development. Leading scholars from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden present a comparative analysis of inequalities in eligibility, take-up, and outcomes of paid parental leave. The report aims to enhance understanding of whether and how Nordic parental leave policies affect gender equality, social class disparities, and the well-being of parents and children. It thereby addresses Nordic societies' efforts to promote gender equality, reduce poverty and inequalities, and foster good health and well-being.

 The Nordics are defined by shared history, common values, and vast ocean areas, twice the size of their land. The Ocean Economy accounts for 15% of the region’s GDP and includes one-third of its most valuable public companies. This report presents an investment-focused analysis of the Nordic Ocean Economy, developed by a Nordic consortium using FRONTTIER investment thesis framework. Drawing on country analysis, proprietary data on 500 Nordic ocean companies, a survey of 200 stakeholders, and 40 investor interviews, the report identifies where the strongest opportunities lie. The report conveys why now is the time to invest, where to focus, and how the region’s strengths create a compelling and competitive opportunity. Consider it a treasure map — not an exact blueprint, but a strategic guide to navigate and access the region’s high-value opportunities for those ready to explore them.

How can student councils be strengthened as areas for meaningful participation? How can they contribute to a positive and inclusive school environment for all students? How were student councils involved in decisions on Covid-19 measures?

The researchers behind this report have examined the current state of student councils and democratic participation in primary and lower secondary schools across the Nordic region. Based on extensive data collection and collaboration among researchers from across the Nordic countries, the report provides a solid knowledge base for developing sustainable, inclusive participation structures in education. It also draws on lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many youth participation mechanisms — including student councils — were overlooked or underutilised. 

The findings underscore the importance of integrating children and young people into decision-making processes, especially during societal disruptions. It offers valuable insights into how young people’s voices are incorporated into school life and how these structures can be improved to ensure more inclusive and equitable participation.

The report explores how student councils can be strengthened as arenas for meaningful participation and how they can contribute to a positive and inclusive school environment for all students. 

From a Nordic perspective, microcredentials are not yet part of the formal national education systems. However, the mapping provided by Nordic Network for Lifelong Learning shows that different and diverse types of and contexts for learning exist in the Nordic region. These results illustrate that a strong tradition of learning exists across the Nordic region as a whole – a tradition of learning that places emphasis on the learner. Considering the recent proliferation and development of microcredentials, and the interest the concept has gained, it is possible that a framework build around microcredentials could form a more systematic, consistent and targeted application of the diversity of learning forms and learning experiences – mapped and described in this Investigation – that are currently found in the Nordic region. A more systematic framework for MCs could provide a new format for responsive, timely and flexible learning. This would create added value and heighten the benefits for the learner and for all “end-users” involved in learning.

The placement of microcredentials in formal learning landscapes calls for the consideration of how microcredentials, as a complementary way of valuing learning, should be designed and developed to allow individuals to collect and to stack learning experiences in a flexible way, at their own pace, and throughout the course of life. Such considerations, in turn, call for an understanding of formal qualifications and MCs as being complementary – constituting a more dynamic and inclusive landscape of learning, accommodating diverse learning styles and prerequisites.

To reach this dynamic system of qualification and learning options, the use of MCs should be flexible in order to accommodate individual learning pathways with options of stacking learning credentials to full qualifications, while standards for Validation of Prior Learning (VPL) and National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are developed for these requirements.

Considering formal qualification systems and a flexible system for MCs as parallel, permeable structures, not fully integrated but connected by providing doors that can open in both directions, these two co-existing structures could generate mutual benefits as well as support and nourish the lifelong learning of the individual.

This investigation on microcredentials (hereafter MCs) in a Nordic perspective has been carried out under the remit of NLL expert network on validation.

The investigation, from mid-2023 till end of 2024, concerns the occurrence, proliferation and development of MCs in a Nordic perspective.  The investigation is financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.The investigation has been informed and inspired by several recent initiatives in the EU and in European countries regarding the emergence and operation of MCs. The EU initiative on MCs, including the European Council’s Recommendation on the development of MCs, and the extensive Research by Cedefop has been followed with great interest by the NLL investigation in particular.

With few exemptions, the term, MC is not formally used in Nordic countries and self-governing regions. Though, in Sweden, small learning experiences are entitled Mikromeritter and Aalborg University, in Denmark, has developed and provided small add-on learning units, named MCs. In the present investigation, the mapping part has been led by the EU definition of MC, having resulted in a variety of learning examples which, in some respects, however not fully, are associated with characteristics of the EU definition. Hence, the aim of the study has been to identify development in learning provided for labour market and society’s objectives, and to examine the added value of this way of addressing current and future needs and requirements in the labour market and society in a situation of rapid and determining changes in jobs and lives.

Identified changes related to trends and megatrends, mapping results and Good Practice cases are analysed and assessed as to their potential to actually provide benefits for end-users. In general, the investigation demonstrates that, smaller learning experiences/MCs should be regarded within the current situation of changes, calling for requirements such as responsiveness and timeliness, together with flexibility and options for individual planning and achievement of the described learning outcomes of the MCs. Thus, forming an option of a complementary career pathway at the learner’s own pace.

For the mapped examples and cases, aims and purposes are typically defined as for upskilling and reskilling as responses to changes in jobs and work, lack of qualified workforce and for inclusion of target groups being, currently, outside jobs and education.The mapped examples of smaller learning experiences/MCs are developed and provided in various formats as stand-alone, add-ons to former skills and series of MCs, divided into smaller parts. Hence when taken together, these formats reflect various means and methods for the application of the achieved MCs in work life and society.

Two general questions have been thoroughly investigated in the study: the question of the added value of the smaller learning experiences/MCs and the question of benefits for end-users.While it is assessed and concluded that the mapped Examples and Good Practice Cases in various respects provide an added value – for instance, in terms of responsiveness, timeliness and flexibility, the question of benefits for end-users is considered in terms of the aspects of strengths and requirements.

A strong stakeholder collaboration for development and provision adds significantly to legitimacy, trust and transparency for the validity and recognition of the achieved learning outcomes.

Concerning the aspects of portability and stackability, limitations are seen in terms of national systems and frameworks, like some NQFs being less open to non-formal learning, and some national systems for VPL being restricted to assessment towards formal education programmes.Besides, in general, evidence for the benefits achieved is scarce.Aspects such as these are included in the Recommendations for the development of MCs.

Rapid biodiversity loss is a global crisis. In 2022, 196 countries, including the Nordics, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Moving from agreement to implementation requires science-based, locally grounded, and transnational collaboration. In 2024, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark launched the Nordic Biodiversity Framework (NBF) to support such synergy. While culturally similar, the countries differ in environment, governance, and EU status, offering valuable learning opportunities. National workshops highlighted shared challenges: unclear definitions, lack of support, limited policy and need for better understanding of the Ecosystem Approach. Despite these barriers, there are efforts ongoing to implement the GBF in these countries, and there is clearly a general increase of awareness of biodiversity within both the public and political spheres.

In this policy brief, Kulturanalys Norden provides an overview of how sustainability is integrated into the cultural policies of the Nordic governments. The focus of the policy brief is on political governance and initiatives that explicitly aim to contribute to social, economic, or environmental sustainability. The analysis is based on government budgets (2023–2025) and on current policy documents, strategies, and policy goals of relevance to cultural policy.

 I denna policy brief presenterar Kulturanalys Norden en kartläggning av hur hållbarhet integreras med de nordiska regeringarnas kulturpolitiska arbete. Kartläggningen fokuserar på kulturpolitisk styrning och satsningar och ambitioner om att bidra till social, ekonomisk eller miljömässig hållbarhet. Materialet är statsbudgetar (2023–2025) samt gällande kulturpolitiska styrdokument, strategier och målformuleringar.

Prosjektet "Bærekraftig oppgradering av gamle bygninger" ("Sustainable Upgrading of Old Buildings") har som formål å fremme forståelse for hvordan bevaring og bruk av tradisjonelle byggematerialer og metoder, godt og jevnlig vedlikehold og bevisst bruk bidrar til reduserte miljøbelastninger. Prosjektet understreker betydningen av å bevare eksisterende bygningsmasse fremfor utskifting og nybygging. Dette fordi det totale klimafotavtrykket ved reparasjon og vedlikehold av eksisterende byggematerialer generelt er lavere enn ved nyproduksjon. Prosjektet belyser også hvordan kulturminnevernet, tradisjonelt opptatt av historiske og estetiske hensyn, spiller en viktig rolle som klimatiltak ved å bevare eldre bygg. Prosjektet er et samarbeid mellom Norge, Sverige og Latvia, og har utviklet en nordisk kunnskapsbank med praktiske råd og veiledninger spesielt rettet mot huseiere.

How do policies and practices address digital exclusion of immigrant women in the Nordic region? This working paper explores the digital inclusion of immigrant women in the Nordic countries, a group identified as particularly vulnerable to digital exclusion. Despite high levels of digitalisation in the region, many immigrant women—especially those newly arrived, with limited local language skills, or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds—face significant barriers to accessing and benefiting from digital services. Through policy analysis, document review, and interviews with civil society actors in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the study examines the current policy landscape, identifies key challenges, and highlights effective practices for promoting digital engagement.

This report is the culmination of the Nordic Climate Neutral Cities (NCNC) project, which examines how cities in the Nordic Region are striving to achieve climate neutrality through spatial planning. Funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the project ran from 2021 to 2024 in the scope of the Nordic Thematic Group for Green and Inclusive Urban Development (TGA).

Based on a multilevel governance approach and in-depth analysis of nine case studies – Aarhus and Vejle (Denmark), Tampere and Oulu (Finland), Reykjavík (Iceland), Trondheim and Kristiansand (Norway) and Lund and Växjö (Sweden) – the report provides new insights into governance challenges, financial constraints, regulatory barriers and spatial planning trade-offs. The report also highlights Nordic cities’ leadership, strong climate commitments and innovative local solutions. The findings underscore the need for improved governance coordination, stronger financial support and policy adjustments to accelerate climate action.

This playbook serves as a comprehensive guide on circular data sharing. It is primarily designed for Nordic businesses, providing practical guidance and inspiration for organizations at different stages of their circular transformation— whether they are just beginning to explore data-driven strategies or looking to scale collaborative data-sharing ecosystems. 

The Playbook builds on insights generated in the Nordic Circular Accelerator – a one-year program led by Nordic Innovation and Accenture. The program brought together key industry players, subject matter experts, and solution providers to provide Nordic businesses with the tools, knowledge, and strategies to leverage data sharing as a key driver of circularity. Accenture is responsible for the content of the Playbook and multiple of frameworks introduced herein.

This report investigates changes in agricultural land use and the potential for collaboration on land use in the Nordic region. Since 1960, agricultural land has declined across the Nordic countries, though the trend has recently slowed. New land use demands, such as green energy infrastructure and international commitments on biodiversity and emissions are adding pressure. A common Nordic knowledge base, including aligned soil maps and quality definitions, would support cooperation, especially in times of crisis. Key areas for collaboration include: improving national land use policy, balancing development with farmland protection, enhancing crisis preparedness, aligning soil data, and developing tools for stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution.

Minimizing exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDs) is high on the political agenda, both in the EU and in the Nordic region. One tool to speed up these efforts is by regulating groups of substances. This project analysed case examples of groupings of EDs. For each case example, advantages, challenges, uncertainties and regulatory perspectives were discussed and learnings were extracted. On this basis, recommendations for grouping of EDs were developed and incorporated in a simplified workflow, which can guide grouping of EDs. Main findings were that EDs can be grouped like other chemicals, their complex hazard profiles require special attention and groupings should start with the broadest group possible. To facilitate competence building for grouping of EDs in EU regulatory process, the report was presented to chemical authorities across the EU at a webinar in November 2024.