Nordregio

Established by the Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordregio - the Nordic Centre for Spatial Development - is an international research institute with a comparative focus.
Nordregio undertakes strategic research and competence development with a view to producing useful knowledge-based foundations for decision-makers at the international, national and regional levels.

Regional development, urban and rural systems, demography, governance and gender, innovation and knowledge, global climate change and local adaptation plus international energy policy are the institute’s major areas of interest – viewed, primarily, from a Nordic or broader European comparative perspective. Geographically, Nordregio focuses specifically on the Nordic countries, the Baltic Sea region, the Arctic, and on the European space more generally.

Nordregio undertakes a great variety of projects running in parallel – usually 50 or more different commitments at any one time. More often than not, these projects are implemented in cooperation with other research institutes and other partners, thus adding to Nordregio’s adaptability and scope.

The institute currently has a research-staff of 25 persons representing 11 different countries and speaking 13 different languages.

Database and maps
One of the core tasks of the institute is to continuously maintain and develop Nordregio’s database, which holds the most comprehensive overview of population, demography, the economy, labour, migration, regional, rural and urban structures, plus the environment and energy, in the Nordic countries.

Similar statistics are also collected and analysed for the Arctic as well as for the Baltic Sea Region more generally, the later covering Northern Germany, Poland, the Baltic States and Northwest Russia. The Nordregio database service also includes an extensive suite of maps.

Academy
Nordregio has specific responsibilities for information dissemination. One of these is the Nordregio Academy, which creates mutual learning environments in particular for practitioners and policy-makers from different countries. Offerings include seminars, study tours, courses and workshops.

Periodicals
The Journal of Nordregio is the institute’s quarterly print-based magazine focusing on new trends in regional development. Recent themes have included: The European space in 2020, People and politics of the Arctic, Examples of Nordic globalisation, Energy challenges and Second homes. Subscription is free of charge.

In cooperation with the OTB Research Institute at the Delft University of Technology, Nordregio also publishes the European Journal of Spatial Development (EJSD). All articles are peer-reviewed. EJSD is available in electronic form only.

Nordregio News provides updates of Nordregio’s ongoing activities such as new projects, events, publications, changes in staff and available positions. The Nordregio News is sent to some 2000 individual e-mail addresses.

Other publications
Annually, Nordregio publishes around 10-15 working papers, books or reports reflecting its ongoing research. All are available online. To date the majority have also been available as printed copies and distributed to relevant target groups, including scientific libraries.

Finance and boards
Nordregio’s activities are partly financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). This basic funding covers 40-50% of the institute’s turnover. The balance comes from contracted work for national and regional authorities and competitive bids to national and European research programmes such as the 7th Framework Programme for Research and the ESPON 2013 Programme.

The Nordregio Board is responsible for long-term strategic planning. It consists of one member from each of the five Nordic states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) plus one observer from each of the three autonomous territories (the Faroese, Greenland and Aland) as well as a member elected by the staff of Nordregio. The board is appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The Expert Council acts as advisor to the Board. This Council consist of 21 members: three from each of the five Nordic states and two from each of the three self-governing areas. Their task is to advise both the Board and the staff of Nordregio.

History and statutes
Nordregio was established by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) on 1 July 1997. The new centre took over, in part, tasks that had previously been assigned to the three separate Nordic institutions Nordplan, NordREFO and NOGRAN.

The current statutes of Nordregio were passed on 14 June 2000, of which the Articles 1 and 2 state that Nordregio shall develop and communicate relevant knowledge to authorities within the regional development and planning fields in the Nordic countries. The institute shall also seek to integrate regional policies and physical planning with the aim of promoting long-term development.

In addition, Nordregio shall carry out and disseminate contract and thematic research, providing a relevant knowledge base for decision making to politicians and other authorities. The institute shall offer continuing education courses for administrators and planners and develop and update statistical databases.

Nordregio shall, in accordance with its statutes, maintain and develop its role as a European and Nordic research centre.