Unity - Networking towards a novel R&D ecosystem for service industry

Unity prosjektet foreslo nettverksaktivitet for å etablere et konsortium for et prosjekt på utvikling av et Forskning og Utvikling (FoU) økosystem for tjenesteindustrien. Det tiltenkte resultatet av Unity prosjektet, og eventuelle FoU prosjektet, vil lede til utviklingen av et økosystem der de forskjellige organisasjonene - tjenesteindustri, innbyggere, forskningsinstitutter, academia, statlige og kommunale organisasjoner med mere - bedre samarbeid om forening, innovasjons og utvikling. Økosystemet vil ikke bare tilby en samhandlingsmekanisme som legger til rette for FoU partnerskap mellom ytjenesteindustri og andre aktører, men også tilby en mekanismes for forenkle finansieringen av samarbeidsprosjekter.

The project was not finalised due to external events affecting project production. From the application, the following expected effects were defined "The short term impact would be establish of a consortium that will lead to an application providing RI&D support and activity for service industry in relevant upcoming call on "Innovasjonsprosjekt i næringslivet i 2020". In the long term, we envision long lasting value creation as effects of the initiative enabled by the Unity project. See the project description for more details of what we envision as long term effects."

Norwegian government funding agencies such as Forskningsrådet and regionale forksningsfondet, have been actively encouraging industry, including small and medium sized companies (SMEs), to increase their research, innovation and development (RI&D) activities. While these initiatives have led to an increased RI&D among the industry, as this call for funding points out, the service industry is still lagging. This problem is much evident in SMEs involved in the service industry, in particular SMEs placed in smaller towns. The project is defined with the following main activities: (1) Networking in the Fredrikstad and Østfold area to connect with already established consortiums, interest organisations, actors from tourism and service industries, government, academia, and RI&D. And, systematically engage with relevant actors with respect to data gathering in the context of mobilising for increased RI&D in the Fredrikstad and Østfold region; (2) Consortium and project building with the networked actors to establish a consortium to explore better ways of collaborating on RI&D projects, and also discuss proposals within the consortium that could result in RI&D applications supporting the service industry. The outcome of the Unity project and the eventual R&D project will lead to the development of an ecosystem where the different organisations – service industry, citizens, research institutes, academic institutes, governmental organisations – can together drive the research, innovation and development. The ecosystem not only provides a collaboration mechanism, enabling R&D partnerships between service and other actors, but also provides much needed funding sources.