The Nordic welfare states are facing significant demographic challenges now and in the future. At the same time life expectancy of the citizens is increasing. Thus more senior citizens need to be cared for by still fewer young people of taxable age. This development undermines the financial sustainability of the Nordic welfare state and presents a major medium to long-term challenge for the Nordic countries, if the high welfare service levels are to be sustained in the decades to come. One of the solutions to this challenge could be the implementation of new welfare technologies and innovative solutions which can increase efficiency of service providers and deliver more value for money. The aim of the project is to increase knowledge about public-private partnerships in the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, with a focus on the welfare sectors in these countries. Focus is on the following sectors: children and youth, elderly and handicapped, disease prevention, education, treatment and rehabilitation. The overall objective is to increase understanding of approaches, effects and perspectives in the use of public-private partnerships, in particular public-private innovation partnerships. This includes the use of public-private partnerships as a strategic tool for new business development for welfare solutions in the Nordic region.

Til løsning af den offentlige økonomis problemer foreslås en indsats på at skabe mere offentlig-privat partnerskab i velfærdssektoren i Norden. Rapporten bringer erfaringer fra de nordiske lande inden for børn og unge, ældre, handicappede, sygdomsforebyggelse, uddannelse, behandling og rehabilitation.

This book maps the latest developments in public procurement of innovation policy in various contexts and analyzes the evolution and development of the various policy solutions in broader institutional contexts. In doing so, it addresses significant theoretical and practical gaps: On the one hand, there is an emerging interest in public procurement as a policy tool for spurring innovation; yet on the other hand, the current theory, with some notable exceptions, is guided and often constrained by historical applications, above all in the defence industries. By carefully examining the cases of eleven countries, the book points to the existence of much more nuanced public procurement on the innovation policy landscape than has been acknowledged in the academic and policy debates to date.

Max Rolfstam examines the increasing emphasis on public procurement as a means to stimulate innovation and the theoretical implications of this policy development. While regular public procurement may be regarded as the outcome of anonymous market processes, public procurement of innovation must be understood as a special case of innovation, where social processes, and consequently the institutions governing these social processes, need to be considered. This book contributes to our understanding with a detailed institutional analysis of the public procurement of innovation. The author draws on an institutional framework that underscores the importance of conducting a multilevel institutional analysis. Unlike earlier studies that reduced public procurement challenges to a legal issue, this book offers insights of more holistic nature. Academics, students and researchers with an interest in innovation policy will find this book to be an informative and fascinating read. It will also provide an invaluable reference tool on how public procurement can be used as an innovation policy tool for policymakers at both national and EU levels.

This book examines the bioeconomy concept, analysing the opportunities it can generate, the constraints and the potential benefits for society. The main objective of bioeconomy is to promote economic development, by creating jobs and enhancing the sustainable utilization of bio-resources. A primary driver of bioeconomy strategy, therefore, is the need to respond to the growing population's food and economic requirements. While today research and literature related to bioeconomy are limited, this book presents a unique collection of perspectives on the complex dimensions of the bioeconomy debate. Drawing on the experiences from Europe, Asia and Africa, it presents an international overview. The chapters address a wide range of issues, including coastal-land interactions, ecosystem services, food production, rural development, agriculture, forest management and bioenergy. As a whole, the volume outlines what role bioeconomy can play in contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without compromising on the ecological sustainability and equitable distribution of benefits. The book concludes by providing recommendations for developing bioeconomy in respective sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries, renewable energy) and directions for planning future bioeconomy programmes and strategies. The Bioeconomy Approach will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecological economics, development economics and environmental economics, as well as policy-makers and practitioners involved in sustainable development.

The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, outlines an ambitious and universal plan of action for people, planet and prosperity as it seeks to strengthen universal peace and freedom. This report presents national and Nordic action on Agenda 2030 with the aim to inform and support the Nordic Council of Ministers in formulating a new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme. All Nordic countries are engaged and strongly committed to implementing Agenda 2030 and there is a broad societal interest in joint Nordic action. The existing Nordic Strategy for Sustainable Development and several other key initiatives within Nordic cooperation already contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030. A new Nordic Sustainable Development Programme can build upon a strong foundation and add further value to the national and international work done by the Nordic countries.

Reviewing European policy with respect to different phases in the criminal justice chain, the contributions in this book range from looking into the extension of criminalization in the sphere of trafficking in human beings and labor exploitation, to the operability of cross-border execution of sentences involving deprivation of liberty. Most contributions look into the need to develop a conceptual framework to support future policy making, pointing to the lack thereof with respect to liability of legal persons, ne bis in idem as an EU principle, cross-border effect of disqualifications, and cooperation with private security actors. One essay looks into the public expenditure in different phases of the criminal justice chain, based on a case study on the public expenditure of Belgian drug policy. Additionally, from a historical and comparative perspective, the book analyzes specific European and Chinese interrogation rules to provide a solid context for the current situation and to support future legal reforms. (Series: Governance of Security (GofS) Research Paper - Vol. 7)

Tourism is an important, growing industry in all the Nordic countries, but until recently, it has not had a particularly strong focus within the Nordic cooperation framework. This is changing rapidly, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has given a strong signal that increased emphasis should be placed on tourism issues within the Nordic framework. This project is a result of that important political prioritisation. The key objective of this project is to create a framework on which a Nordic Tourism Strategy can be established. Thus, the desired outcome of the project is to define future strategies and projects that will underscore common opportunities and challenges within Nordic tourism. The objective of a Nordic Tourism Policy Analysis is to provide valuable input to each country's work within tourism as well as laying a foundation for a common Nordic Tourism Policy.

For a long time, the Nordic countries have been a region of peace, with the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully among themselves, and a region for peace, actively promoting peace globally. Although efforts to actively brand the Nordic region are ongoing, the Nordic Peace brand is an area with untapped potential. The Nordics have rich traditions for working together on peace and conflict resolution. These joint efforts have grown organically and informally from like-mindedness, letting the common Nordic culture and ways of working foster integration among them where relevant. The people working in the Nordic countries on Nordic cooperation and peace recognize the potential of strengthening the Nordic Peace brand. One area of special potential is increasing focus on the shared Nordic priorities of prevention and the women, peace and security agenda as part of the Nordic Peace brand.

In 1999 the EU decided to develop its own military capacities for crisis management. This book brings together a group of experts to examine the consequences of this decision on Nordic policy establishments, as well as to shed new light on the defence and security issues that matter for Europe as a whole.