What's New
Behind the links and logos below you can find the posts and news regarding our latest activities.
April 2025
Nordregio policy brief on Smart adaptation for Nordic municipalities and regions published
Nordregio has published policy brief Rethinking population shrinkage Smart adaptation for Nordic municipalities and regions. The policy brief includes action points for Nordic policymakers working with municipal and regional policy and planning – and particularly targeting national policymakers to work with smart adaptation to population decline in the Nordics.
Jukka Teräs participated the expert group of Nordregio to prepare the policy brief.
March 2025
Arctic Frontiers Roundtable discussion report on Economic Demands and Investments for the Green Shift in the Nordics published
Arctic Frontiers, an annual international conference on Arctic issues, has published Roundtable discussion report on Economic Demands and Investments for the Green Shift in the Nordics. The discussion report is part of the project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop a policy roadmap for sustainable development in the Nordic Arctic’s green transition. The project defines a sustainable green transition for the Arctic, resulting in a comprehensive policy roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders.
Jukka Teräs participated in the roundtable discussion in Tromsø in January 2025, held in conjunction with Arctic Frontiers conference. The discussion report is largely based on the roundtable discussion, which addressed the green transition and focused on the challenges and opportunities presented by the shift to renewable energy.
November 2024
Norrum as smart adaptation expert for Nordic municipalities and regions
Nordregio organized an event “Smart adaptation workshop – approaches and practices for Nordic municipalities and regions” in Stockholm on November 27,2024. The workshop was part of the Nordregio project “Smart adaptation to Rural Realities: Approaches and practices in Nordic municipalities and regions”. The project’s starting point is the current out-migration and population decline facing many rural municipalities. Smart adaptation refers to approaches that public authorities take to adapt their activities to changes in population.
Jukka Teräs gave a guest presentation “Experiences from Finland on Smart adaptation”, partly based on the Norrum cooperation project with the Centre for Regional Research Spatia on Smart adaptation in Finland, complemented with an update on the Finnish Smart adaptation cases.
September 2024
Jukka Teräs participating in the innovation camp in Rovaniemi
Jukka Teräs was participating in the innovation camp in Rovaniemi (on Sep 19-20, 2024) related to the implementation of the smart specialization strategy of Eastern and Northern Finland. Jukka was invited to give a presentation on “Finding the smartest in the sparsely populated region” where his presentation included an overview of smart specialisation in the Nordic Arctic, with examples on smart specialisation applied to waste management in North Norway. Read more about the East-North Finland Smart Specialisation by clicking the image.
September 2024
Jukka Teräs contributed to the East and North Finland Innovation Camp on Smart Specialisation
Jukka Teräs participated in the East and North Finland Innovation Camp on Smart Specialisation in Rovaniemi on September 19-20, 2024. Jukka was invited to give a presentation on “Finding the smartest in the sparsely populated region”. The presentation included an overview of smart specialisation in the Nordic Arctic, with examples on smart specialisation applied to waste management in North Norway. Read more about the East-North Finland Smart Specialisation Strategy by clicking the image.
May 2024
Norrum contributed to the Arctic Circular Economy Forum 2024
The Circular Economy Centre (Kiertotalouskeskus) organised a third annual Arctic Circular Economy Forum 2024 in Kemi, Finland on 30th May 2024. Jukka Teräs acted as a facilitator of the event.
The major themes of the forum included industrial side streams, green transition in the Kemi region, financing circular economy investments and projects and acceleration of circular economy businesses.
At the ACEF Forum, Tapojärvi Oy received award by the Circular Economy Centre for their long-term R&D and innovation work in the field of circular economy.
May 2024
Circular economy accelerates eco-industrial park development in Kankaanpää.
An article on the strategy process of Kirkkokallio eco-industrial park was published on 26th May 2024 by the local newspaper Satakunnan Kansa. Click here or the logo to the article!
The Kirkkokallio eco-industrial park in Kankaanpää in Western Finland utilizes energy, water and waste side streams, following circular economy principles. The central player of the eco-industrial park is Honkajoki Oy with responsibly produced high-quality renewable raw materials for animal nutrition, biofuels and fertilizers. There are 6 companies operating in the area, with a total of 200 employees.
The Kirkkokallio eco-industrial park has prepared a new strategy as part of the JTF (Just Transition Fund) project on green transition in Northern Satakunta by the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. Norrum acted as expert for the strategy process.
March 2024
Norrum as co-organizer for the strategy process of the Kirkkokallio eco-industrial park in Kankaanpää, Finland
Norrum together with the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) organises a strategy process in spring 2024 for the companies and stakeholders of the eco-industrial park of Kirkkokallio in Kankaanpää, Finland. The strategy process is part of the JTF funded project on green transition (Pohjois-Satakunta vihreän siirtymän aalloilla), which is coordinated by the SAMK. Read more about the project here.
January 2024
Norrum contributes to the evaluation of Western Finland regional development programmes.
The regional councils of South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Tampere Region, Ostrobothnia,
and Satakunta in Western Finland have initiated an evaluation of their regional development programmes.
The evaluation aims to assess the impact, timeliness, and need for reform of the regional programmes. The evaluation focuses on the goals, implementation, effectiveness, and execution of the regional programmes for the period 2022–2025. The evaluation analyses e.g., competitiveness, population structure, expertise, sustainable development, well-being, and digitalization aspects.
Owal Group Oy, with subcontractors NordEval Oy and Norrum Oy, is responsible for executing the
evaluation. Please click here to read more about the evaluation project (in Finnish).
December 2023
Norrum as smart specialisation expert for Västerbotten, Sweden
Region Västerbotten organized a webinar on December 15, 2023, with focus on smart specialisation and PRI (Partnerships for Regional Innovation) from the viewpoint of Region Västerbotten. The webinar included an introduction to Region Västerbotten innovation policy by Jonas Lundström, Head of Business and Community Development of Region Västerbotten, and a keynote presentation by Johan Stierna, Lead Scientist, JRC, European Commission, on Place-based innovation in times of Transformation.
Jukka Teräs introduced the recently published S3 Västerbotten Roadmap for Smart Economic Transformation. Norrum acted as international expert for Region Västerbotten during the preparation phase of the S3 Roadmap.
November 2023
Norrum contributed to the Regional Development Day in Häme, Finland
The Regional Council of Häme organised the Regional Development Day 2023 – a workshop on regional development – on November 24, 2023, in Hämeenlinna.
Jukka Teräs presented results of the study on Research, Development, and Innovation and Smart specialisation in the Kanta-Häme region. Norrum implemented the study in 2023 in cooperation with NordEval. The expert work was part of Häme Goes into Ecosystems project, which is coordinated by the Regional Council of Häme.
September 2023
Jukka Teräs presented Roadmap for Västerbotten Smart Specialisation in Umeå
Jukka Teräs (at the left-hand side of the photo) was invited to give a presentation on “Strengthening innovativeness and regional innovation collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region – perspectives and challenges” at the General Assembly of the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission on 19 September 2023 in Umeå. The session was moderated by Mr Markku Markkula (at the right-hand side of the photo), Chair of the BSC Energy and Climate Working Group (Helsinki-Uusimaa), the CoR Vice-President and rapporteur on both the EU Missions and the New European Innovation Agenda.
The presentation by Jukka Teräs included an overview of the S3 Västerbotten Roadmap for Smart Economic Transformation by Region Västerbotten. Norrum provided expert work for the S3 Roadmap preparation.
September 2023
Norrum as co-organizer for the regional RDI workshop in Kanta-Häme, Finland
Norrum together with the Regional Council of Häme and NordEval organised a workshop for research, development, and innovation actors (RDI) in the Kanta-Häme region on 14th September 2023 in Hämeenlinna, Finland. The workshop was part of an expert work of the project Häme Goes into Ecosystems, which is coordinated by the Regional Council of Häme. The workshop acted as an important forum to bring actors together to discuss the RDI and smart specialisation in Kanta-Häme.
Photos: The RDI workshop in Hämeenlinna was opened by Jyri Sarkkinen, the Development Director of the Regional Council of Häme
June 2023
International roundtable event on printed intelligence and the food sector in Oulu
PrintoCent & Norrum organised an International Roundtable on printed intelligence and the food industry on 7th June 2023 in Oulu, Finland. The Roundtable was a successful matchmaking event with lively and informative discussions between the representatives of the 4food sector and printed intelligence. The discussions focused on quality control of food production, traceability, and food waste issues. Jukka Teräs facilitated discussions and Eeva Turunen presented recent findings on natural products and technology needs.
May 2023
Jukka Teräs lectured on smart specialisation and sustainability in Karlstad, Sweden
Jukka presented the major results of the recent EU JRC study on Sustainable development in Smart Specialisation strategies in the European Arctic regions at the final event of the S3 training programme in 2022-2023. The event that was held on May 9, 2023 in Karlstad, Sweden, was part of a training programme Smart specialisation as a tool for sustainable regional development and growth, organized by the Karlstad University in Sweden. The programme focused on knowledge and practical skills related to smart specialisation in the context of regional development.
May 2023
Norrum contributed to the East and North Lapland conference on local smart specialisation
The conference Local smart specialisation in East and North Lapland – Winning R&D and innovation initiatives based on local strengths was held in Savukoski in East Lapland on May 4-5, 2023. The conference, organised by the EIP – Vitality and Smartness for East and North Lapland project, demonstrated how local smart specialisation can promote innovation in East and North Lapland.
The conference speakers included experts on smart specialisation and regional development from Finland and Sweden. Moreover, Samu Paukkunen, the Deputy Director of the Finnish Institutional Affairs, gave a Keynote on the geopolitical situation and regional preparedness. Jukka Teräs acted as moderator and lecturer at the conference.
Photo: EIP conference panel on May 4, 2023. Samu Paukkunen, Finnish Institutional Affairs – Ville Rauhala, Lapland University of Applied Sciences – Erkki Parkkinen, Salla municipality – Eeva-Maria Maijala, Savukoski Municipality
March 2023
Norrum assists PrintoCent at the InnoFest 2023
PrintoCent is an Industrial Cluster that welcomes all industries to explore what Printed Intelligence can offer! PrintoCent has partners, facilities and experience to develop sustainable solutions, find new design opportunities and build new value chains to realize these. The PrintoCent pilot manufacturing lines and laboratories are the heart of the operations. The pilot factory enables technology development and testing from prototyping to proof-of-manufacturing and pilot-scale production for early market trials. Events for innovation and training are a way to dive in and start exploring the opportunities of Printed Intelligence. The PrintoCent cluster is coordinated by VTT.
PrintoCent has a strong base in Oulu, Finland, with 500 printed intelligence experts in companies and in research in the Oulu region. PrintoCent with its 40+ international industry member companies and other partners forms the PrintoCent Cluster.
InnoFest is an innovation event and competition in Oulu where ideas, problems and Printed Intelligence solutions meet annually. The InnoFest open innovation event has been the launching arena for several innovations and start-ups, and new product and business opportunities in existing companies. Please read more about the event by clicking the image.
The Norrum expert work for the InnoFest 2023 event focuses on applications related to food and the food value chain.
February 2023
The MATTI project that was implemented by MDI and Norrum has been finalized
The project studied the effects of multi-locality and place-independence on sustainable rural knowledge economies. Please read the final report and policy brief here.
The MATTI project experts discussed the topics of the project over a podcast. Questions like: What is a rural information economy? How does the transition to sustainability show up in the rural information economy? were highlighted. Please listen to the podcast (in Finnish) here:
January 2023
Regional Resilience Study in Northern Ostrobothnia for the Council of Oulu Region
The study on regional resilience in Northern Ostrobothnia was carried out by Norrum and TK-Eval in 2022.
Regional resilience is related to regional actors’ ability to respond to changing conditions, for example, geopolitical changes, factory closings and other structural changes. The study investigated the ability of Northern Ostrobothnia to respond and prepare for risks in the short and long term. The study identified and analysed risks and assets in Northern Ostrobothnia and its 30 municipalities, especially from the point of view of key industries and the regional economy. The analysis included interviews with representatives of municipalities, key companies, and other stakeholders.
Please read more (in Finnish) by clicking the image above.
January 2023
Åland’s structural fund programme 2014-2020: Final evaluation report 2022
Norrum contributed to an evaluation study by Nordregio on the structural fund programme in Åland 2014-2020. (Ålands strukturfondsprogram 2014-2020: Utvärderarnas slutrapport 2022.)
The study assesses that the programme has played a significant role in supporting regional development in Åland, especially during the pandemic where financial support was provided to people and businesses to help kickstart the recovery of society.
If you are interested to read more (in Swedish), please use the link by clicking the image.
December 2022
The World Circular Economy Forum 2022
Jukka Teräs contributed to the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) Accelerator Session: How to attract circular economy investments to eco-industrial parks on 8th December 2022, organised by Circular Economy Centre. Jukka acted as a moderator of the session. If you wish to follow the discussions, please use the link by clicking the image.
November 2022
Such a great visit to the Nordregio Forum 2022 at the Hamar Culture House in Norway!
Jukka participated in the forum on November 23, 2022 as a panelist on labour mismatch in the Nordics, together with Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish experts. Thank you for the photo, Mats Stjernberg!
Find more about the event by clicking the photo
October 2022
A new blog post by Norrum on multi-locality in the Nordics
READ HERE (in Finnish)
The MATTI project provides information on the effects of multi-locality and place-independence on sustainable rural knowledge economies. As part of the project, Norrum conducted a Nordic benchmarking study. The blog post summarises some of the best practices from Nordics.
Read more about the MATTI project: Click here to the project page
August 2022
Norrum Oy kick-starts autumn with a project about regional resilience in Northern Ostrobothnia.
The project is funded by the Council of Oulu Region, and it examines the regional resilience in the region’s 30 municipalities from the perspective of key industries and the regional economy. The research examines the region’s ability to respond and prepare for shocks and risks in the short
and long term. Risks affecting the regional economy are discussed in relation to the economy, technology, price fluctuations, changes in demand, regulation, and the environment. The study will be completed by November 2022.
Read more (in Finnish):
June 2022
Norrum moderated PRE-PRINSE’22 roundtable session Food safety in the logistic value chains – hot, cold, bacteria-free on June 7th 2022 at VTT, Oulu.
The Roundtable discussion focused on the possibilities to bring printed intelligence into the food industry. The session included discussion and brainstorming on production, distribution, processing of foodstuffs, as well as food safety and local food issues. The session gathered international experts on printed intelligence and food sector experts, as well as financial experts. The session was moderated by Jukka Teräs, Norrum Oy.
In PrintoCent, companies get easy access to new business development and pilot manufacturing resources for the introduction of printed intelligence components, systems and products, from pilot production to early market trials. Application focus areas range from rapid disposable diagnostics, smart flexible lighting and wearables to Internet-of-Things with sensors and energy harvesting. PrintoCent has wide global reach with its international member companies and partners. In Oulu region more than 300 experts are available in research and in industry. The way of working in PrintoCent is based on regular Cluster Meetings and project based operations. The overall programme is coordinated by VTT.
May 2022
The final report and second policy Brief on regional smart adaptation is now out!
Norrum participated in the preparation of the publication in cooperation with the Centre for Regional Research Spatia. The report uses the smart shrinking framework to examine how municipalities have adapted to the population decline in Finland. The concept of smart shrinking is still unestablished and taking shape in Finnish regional politics and the study of regional development and municipalities. The work has been part of the Prime Minister’s Office assignment, Finland (2021-2022).
The report is published in Finnish. Please find the English summary at the page 5. Click the picture to access the final report and the policy brief.
November 2021
Second Policy Brief on monitoring mechanisms of industrial circular economy is now out!
Similarly with the first policy brief, published in September 2021, Norrum participated in the preparation of the publication in cooperation with the Circular Economy Centre in Kemi, Finland, and the Sitra Innovation Fund in Helsinki, Finland. The policy brief summarises the main outcomes of the World Circular Economy Forum 2021 interactive session on the Benefits of Measuring eco-industrial parks on 15th September 2021.
The policy brief is published on the website of Circular Economy Centre. Click the picture to access the policy brief.
October 2021
Report on Nordic countries’ regional policies and efforts to deal with economic crises in regions or municipalities
Tillväxtanalys published in September 2021 a report on Nordic countries’ regional policies and efforts to deal with economic crises in regions or municipalities. (Nordisk studie om regionalpolitik och omställningsförmåga). The purpose of the study is to contribute knowledge and experience about the Nordic countries’ regional policies and efforts to deal with economic crises in regions or municipalities. Jukka Teräs participated in the study as part of Nordregio’s expert group. The publication also presents structural policy measures in Nordic countries.
October 2021
Norrum Oy participating in a project about multilocality in rural areas of Finland
The MATTI project (Monipaikkaisuus ja maaseudun tietotalous) on multilocality, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, focuses on understanding distance work and multilocality, with an emphasis on knowledge-intensive work and economy in rural areas. The MATTI project analyses the effects of covid-19 on multilocality, too. The implementation of the MATTI project is taken care of by MDI and Norrum. The project includes a Nordic benchmarking approach, too. The project will run until the end of 2022.
Read more: Click here to the project page
September 2021
The World Circular Economy Forum 2021
Jukka Teräs and Eeva Turunen contributed to the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) session on The benefits of measuring eco-industrial parks on 15th September 2021, organised by Circular Economy Centre, Sitra and UNIDO. Jukka moderated the session and Eeva presented the Policy Brief on Measuring industrial circular economy (Please see the previous post). If you wish to follow the discussions, please use the link by clicking the logo. (Video starts on 11 min 38 sec)
The session attracted more than 200 participants from 40+ countries. We had an inspiring discussion and important contribution also from the audience through real time Mentimeter questionnaire. As was addressed in the conclusions, networking is a crucial part of developing the sustainable performance of industrial circular economy. Happy to be part of the great network of the WCEF organisation and eco-industrial parks in Finland!
September 2021
Policy Brief on measuring the industrial circular economy in eco-industrial parks
Norrum participated in the preparation of the Digipolis Policy Brief on measuring the industrial circular economy in eco-industrial parks. The Policy Brief has been prepared in cooperation with the Circular Economy Centre in Kemi, Finland, and the Sitra Innovation Fund in Helsinki, Finland and it is the first in a series of publications introducing the monitoring mechanisms of eco-industrial parks. The publication introduces recommendations on developing the monitoring mechanisms for eco-industrial parks that aim to meet the global sustainable challenge by promoting circular economy.
The policy brief is published on the website of Circular Economy Centre. Click the picture to access the policy brief.
August 2021
August 2021
Norrumin asiantuntijat Jukka Teräs ja Eeva Turunen osallistuivat Kiertotalouskeskuksen Policy Brief -julkaisun laatimiseen teollisen kiertotalouden mittaamisesta ekoteollisuuspuistoissa. Policy Brief on ensimmäinen osa julkaisusarjaa, jossa esitellään ekoteollisuuspuistojen mittaamista. Julkaisussa avataan kehittämisehdotuksia yksittäisten ekoteollisuuspuistojen, kansainvälisten asiantuntijoiden ja Suomen ekoteollisuuspuistojen verkostotoiminnan näkökulmasta. Lue lisää ja lataa julkaisu klikkaamalla kuvaa.
May 2021
Jukka Teräs moderated an international session in Cleanest Air in the World – Today and Tomorrow webinar on 28 May 2021. The webinar was arranged by the Regional Council of Lapland as part of European Green Week initiative. The keynote speakers in the session:
- Markku Markkula, CoR rapporteur on Climate Adaptation, Covenant of Mayors Climate Ambassador for Finnish Cities and Regions
- Alessandro Rainoldi, Head of the Territorial Development Unit (B3), Joint Research Centre, Spain
- Anders Bergström, EUSBSR Policy Area Coordinator PA Education, Science and Social affairs, Norden Association
Please click the Arctic Smartness logo to find more information about the webinar.
April 2021
Jukka Teräs acted as moderator of the MIREU H 2020 project final webinar conference on April 20, 2021. More than 100 conference participants shared their insights on the regional cooperation and how it supports the mining and metallurgy sector. Moreover, practical showcases of the interregional cooperation and its benefits in EU and internationally were discussed at the event. Please find more information about the MIREU project by clicking the MIREU logo.
April 2021
Eeva Turunen has started as a project coordinator at Norrum Oy in April 2021. Previously Eeva worked as a junior research fellow and cartographer at Nordregio, Stockholm. Her main interests and themes of experience in regional development include smart specialisation, regional resilience and smart shrinking in rural areas. She has an educational background with environmental and natural resource economy from the University of Helsinki.