The idea of Nordregio Forum is to touch base with the reality of practitioners within a chosen theme and to discover which research questions and angles are sought after. An open dialogue with stakeholders is the best way to ensure Nordregio produces useful and relevant research results, and this was one of the Forum's main goals. During one day Nordregio researchers listened to invited guests and sat down to discuss together.
The theme of the first forum was Green Growth, investigated from different angles, including the conceptual, policy and business perspectives. The attending guests were Birgitta Resvik, Head of Public Affairs Sweden at Fortum, Salvor Jónsdóttir, Former Director of planning for Reykjavik, Iceland and current member of the Advisory Board responsible for preparing Iceland's Green Growth Strategy, Olle Lundgren, representing Länsstyrelsen Jämtland, Lars Lind, CEO and Founder of CleanTech Region and Tine Nørgaard Aage, representing Region Sjaelland, Denmark.
The chosen topic created a high level of interest and engagement from the outside experts, who each reported their gratitude for being included in the event. This confirmed that the external experts appreciated and valued the type of research Nordregio is doing and that they viewed Nordregio in high regard.
- Nordregio and the people here are very encouraging and curios, said Lars Ling, one of the guests, at the end of the day.
The five guests covered a geographical spread and represented different areas of the topic. The diversity between the guests and researchers also stimulated productive discussion sessions.
The Forum is a vital part of Nordregio's view on communication, which is based on the concept of two-way communication.
- The trickiest question for us as a research institute is not to find the best way to disseminate information but rather how best to pick it up. In today's increasingly informed world reflection is a key part of communication. Reflection is also key to success in the field of applied research, says Anna Lena Schlossman, Head of Communications at Nordregio.
A general conclusion of the Forum as a concept was that it is a useful, valuable and enjoyable way of obtaining external perspectives and feedback on research themes covered at Nordregio.
The outcome of this Forum on Green Growth was that Nordregio possesses some of the highly relevant applied research competencies that can be associated with much needed research within this theme. This includes core competencies on innovation and knowledge dynamics, territorial perspectives in particular related to land use functions and the dynamic interplay between urban, peri-urban and rural areas, as well as issues related to energy policy development and governance.