FORSTERK-Forsterkningsmidler

Aktører i samfunnet forventer at universiteter bidrar til å løse samfunnsutfordringene og driver utvikling i lokalområdet. Universiteter kan fremme innovasjon og økonomisk utvikling ved å samarbeide og overføre ny kunnskap til samfunnet. Universiteter er imidlertid ulike, og de ligger i ulike regioner. Dette betyr at alle universiteter ikke kan utføre denne rollen på samme måte. Det er viktig å forstå hvordan universiteter i ulike regioner bidrar til regional utvikling gjennom sin samfunnskontakt. Prosjektet «Promoting the Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development in Norway» har som mål å hjelpe norske universiteter til å styrke sin regionale rolle. Det bruker tradisjonelle og nye medier til å formidle ny kunnskap fra regioner over hele Europa fra RUNIN-prosjektet til nøkkelpersoner i Norge.

The urge to shift to a knowledge-based economy has put universities in a key role as producers and transmitters of new knowledge through their research activities, training of highly qualified human capital and founding of new firms that constitute critical sources for innovation and regional development. Therefore, universities are expected to contribute to the regions in which they are located and societies they are embedded in through various mechanisms, which leads to the intensification of collaborations and networks with relevant stakeholders including public organizations, industrial actors, citizens, other research institutions, among others. The H2020 project “The Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development (RUNIN)” aimed at exploring the processes of these interactions based on four pillars: ‘People and Networks’, ‘Policies and Interventions’, ‘Places and Territories’ and ‘Practices and Governance’. The RUNIN consortium, including universities and local/regional organizations, has created a valuable body of knowledge on the contributions of universities to innovation and regional development from different parts of Europe that are transferable to Norway. In line with this, the aim of the proposed project is to disseminate the knowledge generated through research conducted in the RUNIN project to a broader Norwegian audience, with an emphasis on academic partners and governmental organizations in Norway, and to promote a higher visibility for the role of universities in innovation and regional development at the national level.