Implementing missions in Nordic regions

The focus of MOIPs at supra-national and national levels has naturally trickled down to sub-national levels. However, like at the national level, mission-innovation approaches are in the early stages, and their interpretation varies significantly across regions. MOIPs’ have raised many questions about the extent to which they recognise geographical variations and allow for adapting to place-specific contexts (e.g., Coenen et al., 2015). In recent years, many scholars have contributed with ideas for how to incorporate geographical perspectives into the design and implementation of the MOIPs, such as Morisson et al. ‘small-wins’ strategy for underdeveloped regions (2023) and Tödtling et al. ‘challenge-oriented RISs’ (2022). 

The following section elaborates on three distinct cases of manufacturing in Nordic regions: Northern Jutland in Denmark, Ostrobothnia in Finland, and Västerbotten in Sweden. Results are based on fieldwork conducted during 2024, including interviews and workshops with diverse stakeholders.

The Northern Jutlandic Regional Business Beacon, CO2Vision, focuses on green industries, carbon capture, storage, and utilisation (CCUS) technologies, and power-to-X (PtX) technologies (Innovation Fund, 2025). CO2Vision consists of a broad consortium with representatives from universities and other higher learning institutions, business and industry organisations, and municipalities, to name a few. According to the stakeholders interviewed in Northern Jutland, the selection of CCUS and PtX technologies as Northern Jutland's main mission was decided at the national level but with input from the regional level. It was experienced that the regional specificities, like the strong technical university in Aalborg, the labour market characteristics, and the vast underground, were taken into account by the national decision-makers when selecting CCUS and PtX as primary missions. The consortium meets regularly to develop subgoals, applies for funding and knowledge share. In the case of Northern Jutland, participants described how their distance to the capital region was hindering direct impact and the ability to meet and consult with national decision-makers. The top-down selection of the mission theme could, however, also be a way to create legitimacy for both the regional authorities and the local communities in these large societal transformation processes, i.e., deployment of CCUS and PtX-technologies.  The partnership in Northern Jutland describes their work as experimental, allowing them to move beyond CCUS and PtX technologies, learn from their experiences, and be more flexible. 

The partnership members had different roles and responsibilities, depending on their specific competencies. The university had experience writing applications, the municipalities could grow local support, and the business representatives knew the market and could provide technical know-how. The members knew each other well because of the tight-knit community in Northern Jutland and the partnership's regular meetings.  On one hand, this would allow the members to build trust and work together to solve global and regionally specific problems. On the other hand, it was also described how there was the risk that they would only hear perspectives aligning with their own.

Overall, while the mission selection was decided on the national level, the Northern Jutlandic stakeholders described the CO2Vision as a Northern Jutlandic result, depending on regional capabilities and subsequently benefitting the region while benefiting Denmark and solving global grand societal challenges. 

*NOTE: This case is mostly based on fieldwork conducted in Northern Jutland in June 2024, during which several stakeholders from the regional innovation system were interviewed. 

Similar to the national level, the presence of directionality and mission-driven approaches in Finnish regions are embedded in the innovation system despite no direct use of full-fledged missions. The interviewed regional authorities described the introduction of transformative approaches as a gradual process of policy evolution rather than a sharp U-turn from pre-existing frameworks. The regional council of Ostrobothnia has been described as a forerunner in adopting Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) and facilitating the conditions for nourishing the innovation ecosystem (Johnson et al., 2019). According to the regional council, the innovation ecosystem and the intensive collaborative culture are today highly mature, particularly in the core sector: energy. EnergyVAASA cluster, pulls together several large companies, such as Wärtsilä, ABB, Danfoss, VEO, and The Switch, and many highly innovative SMEs (ibid.). It is believed in the region that the internationally relevant sector has the potential to be a driver in some of the imminent transitions. One of the mechanisms in place bringing in the mission-oriented approach is the ‘ecosystem agreement’ between the city of Vaasa and the government of Finland, a funding instrument made available through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). However, the regional council has limited mandates and instruments to pressure the industry to fulfil ambitious missions. Instead, missions and transformative innovation efforts become incorporated into the stakeholder-driven decision-making process. The regional council is, therefore, active in pulling in instruments made available by the EU to boost consensus-based decisions in the region. The latest effort, in a joint effort with neighbouring regions is the application for the official status as a ‘Hydrogen Valley’ (H2V), an initiative driven by the EC as part of both the New European Innovation Agenda (European Commission, 2022b) and the global mission to produce ‘Clean Hydrogen’ (Mission Innovation 2.0) (European Commission, 2022a). Interviews revealed that if successful, the beneficiaries will receive up to € 20 Million in funding to boost the development of hydrogen value chain. The interviewed stakeholders in Ostrobothnia thereby experienced that a collaborative approach works most effectively in setting highly ambitious goals for the region, as opposed to a top-down exclusive process. Interestingly, stakeholders understood missions not as strict goals but more as a general guide towards which all relevant actors should align their efforts. Collaboration, however, was not argued to eliminate competition. Indeed, stakeholders stated that they were able to work together despite being exposed to a fiercely competitive market.

Although at a premature state, Västerbotten region has begun moving towards the adoption of MOIPs. With the elaboration of the S3 Västerbotten Roadmap for Smart Economic Transformation, the region makes clear its intent to introduce missions. Similarly to the case in Ostrobothnia, rather than a radical policy shift, missions are described as a form of policy evolution from previous policy efforts, particularly the S3, and “a complementary element of the regional innovation strategy (RIS Västerbotten) and regional development strategy (RDS Västerbotten).” (Region Västerbotten, 2023, p. 15). Taking the Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI) Playbook (2022) as a point of departure, Västerbotten declares that missions need to be challenge-based, place-based and inclusive approaches, as well as to strive for system-level transformations (ibid.). According to interviews, the green transition generated sudden optimism in the region. The general decline of industrialisation in the post-1980s has accelerated the population drain towards Sweden’s southern regions (Eriksson et al., 2024). However, the region's key importance of renewable energy and natural resources has opened new opportunities for Västerbotten. According to interviews, this has resulted in MOIPs and other transformative policies gaining traction. 

Favourable conditions in Västerbotten in terms of land availability and inexpensive renewable energy were described as key factors in attracting large investments. Interviews revealed, however, criticism towards the corporate tax system in Sweden, which is seen to disproportionally favour urban regions while draining resources from low-density regions. According to interviews, the challenge with such a system is that the distribution of costs and benefits is imbalanced, with municipal and regional administrations being burdened with the costs, such as infrastructure and investment in education and healthcare. The boom-and-bust case of Northvolt battery factory is an example of the high risks involved not only for the company but also for sub-national authorities who support with significant resources. Stakeholders have drawn parallels between this case and the possible implications of MOIPs, generating some scepticism as they are, on the one hand, considered risky and, on the other hand, seen as potentially neglecting other important areas that need attention from innovation policy. Nevertheless, MOIPs appear to enjoy a decent level of support given that the regional stakeholders are well-experienced with industrial transformations. They are aware of the necessary and ambitious structural changes. 

*NOTE:  This case is mostly based on fieldwork conducted in Västerbotten in November 2024, where several stakeholders from the regional innovation system were interviewed.