Creating research impact in the Nordic countries – and beyond

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The main goal of NordForsk is to facilitate effective and trustful research cooperation in the Nordic Region, and ensure that NordForsk funded research has the highest international quality and realises Nordic added value.

NordForsk develops programmes and calls in close collaboration with national research funding organisa- tions in the Nordic region. We fund high-quality research, research infrastructure and research-based innovation in different sectors of society. Funding desicions are based on scientific quality and expected Nordic added value.

NordForsk enhances the impact of Nordic research and research infrastructure collaboration by communicating the Nordic added value of our activities, and supports activities disseminating results from and impact of our funded projects and programmes.

This report shows that NordForsk funded research supports the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Vision 2030 and the Action Plan for the period 2021–2024. Moreover, it describes how Nordic added value and other impacts on society are created.

Most of the data presented in this report were gathered in June 2022 from Researchfish, a reporting system all NordForsk funded projects are expected to report in at least once per year. Of a total of 136 registered projects, 103 submitted their data in 2021 and 2022.

This report uses the “live” version of the Researchfish data, which also includes projects who have entered some data but never submitted, and information entered after some awards have been submitted.

The data concerning NordForsk research by geography, Vision 2030 and Agenda 2030 are from our own portfolio analyses.

What is impact?

We define research impact as the results and effects of research.

This includes academic impact, such as enhancing scientific quality and building critical expertise, and societal impact, which is about the contribution research has on society and the economy, and its benefits to individuals, organisations or nations.

Impact is created in many ways, for example through publications and disseminations, and engaging stakeholders and involving end-users. It is impact when research leads to the development of policy, practice or services, shaping legislation and changing behaviour.

Impact can occur quickly, but it often takes time – sometimes long after the project at NordForsk has been completed.

In the Nordic perspective, impact is also about creating Nordic added value. This is a main objective for NordForsk, and fundamental to the Nordic research collaboration we fund.