New discussion paper on sharing test beds across borders Test and demonstration facilities, often named Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) play a pivotal role for successful commercialization of new digital products and services, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). There seems to be a strong correlation between competitiveness of technology-based SMEs and their access to test beds. However,…
Baltic Development Forum together with the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) have launched a discussion paper titled “The Future of Europe and Globalization: Where is the Voice of the Baltic Sea Region?”. The paper has been developed by Dr. Christian Ketels, Harvard Business School, and Dr. David Skilling, Director of Landfall Strategy Group. The paper aims to…
This year`s Political State of the Region Report shares the perspectives of six young researchers from different countries in the region. The authors seek to analyse the impact that the Brexit and the new administration in Washington has or will have on cooperation-patterns. A conclusion from the report is that the observations and predictions differ substantially throughout the region. Jana…
Top of Digital Europe has launched a Discussion Paper “Towards a Cross-border Open Data Agenda – A Case for a macro-regional agenda on open government data in the Baltic Sea Region”. The aim is to initiate a debate on the vast potential for open government data across borders in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It is a call to governments…
During the 18th Baltic Development Forum Summit and the 7th Strategy Forum for the EUSBSR, BDF launched three new “State of the Region Reports” providing an economic and political outlook for the region and analyzing the perspectives for regional cooperation. The 18th BDF Summit explored the potential for growth, innovation and competitiveness in the current changing political and economic environment,…
Two new studies of the digital economy in the Baltic Sea Region were published under the wings of the regional ICT Think Tank “Top of Digital Europe” established by BDF and Microsoft: The first edition of the “State of the Digital Region” report, an annual updated overview of the region´s achievements and position as a global ICT hub. The second…
Programming in school should be on top of the agenda! That is one of the recommendations in a discussion paper published by “Top of Digital Europe”. The paper, “Coding the Future – The challenge of meeting future e-skill demands in the Nordic-Baltic ICT hub”, deals with the emerging gap between demand and supply of ICT specialists. In Europe, this gap…
On 3 November the Baltic Development Forum participated at the final conference of the BSR TransGovernance project in Brussels, where the final report and it’s highlights were presented and actively discussed by the attending stakeholders from the whole Baltic Sea Region. See full conference programme. The project started in September 2012 and has lasted for two years. It was operated…
Responsible water management is good business that can mitigate risks, cut down on costs, build trust with consumers and decision-making, and provide companies with a competitive advantage. These are some of the main points outlined in the report “Making Water Your Business – Company Perspectives from the Baltic Sea Region”, launched by the Baltic Development Forum at the 16th BDF…
Russia is the world’s fourth largest energy consuming country with energy intensity several times higher than of the developed world. This provides a huge potential for Energy Efficiency (EE) savings. Tapping into this potential requires a substantial scaling of EE projects financing. According to various estimates around 230 billion EUR are needed to reach 40% reduction of energy intensity in…