Research Council, clusters and regional funds

Innovation Norway and Skattefunn are the best-known public sources, but they are far from the only ones. Around them lies a whole ecosystem of programmes, clusters and regional schemes that many founders overlook. In this lesson you get the overview, so you know where to look further.

The Research Council's innovation programmes

The Research Council of Norway is best known for Skattefunn approval, but it also manages a range of its own programmes that finance innovation in business. A central instrument is the innovation project for the business sector, where companies can receive support for more ambitious research and development efforts, often in collaboration with a university or research institute.

These funds are competitive and usually require more R&D weight than an ordinary development project. In return the amounts are larger, and an award also brings academic credibility that can open other doors. Current calls and deadlines can be found at forskningsradet.no. Collaborating with a research community can feel daunting for a small company, but it is often precisely the link between a founder with market understanding and an academic environment with deep knowledge that makes these projects strong.

Business clusters: Arena, NCE and GCE

Norway has a deliberate focus on business clusters — geographic or sector-based networks of companies, research communities and public players who collaborate. The programme is tiered:

• Arena is the entry level, for clusters in an early development phase.
• NCE (Norwegian Centres of Expertise) is for mature clusters with established collaboration and national significance.
• GCE (Global Centres of Expertise) is the top level, for clusters that compete internationally.

For an individual founder the cluster is not a bag of money, but something just as useful: access to networks, competence, joint projects and potential customers and partners. Joining a relevant cluster can be a shortcut into an entire industry.

Regional and municipal funds

A lot of financing is closer than you think. County and municipal authorities often have their own startup grants and business funds aimed at local founders. In many places there is also a startup centre or business incubator that offers free guidance, shared offices and help navigating the support system.

These schemes vary greatly from place to place, and they are far less known than the national ones. That is precisely why competition is often lower. Check the websites of your own municipality and county, and ask the local startup centre — it costs nothing and can uncover funds you would otherwise never have found. In addition there are incubators and accelerator programmes, often part-owned by the public sector, that combine a small early-capital injection with guidance, network and office space over an intensive period. For many brand-new companies a place in a good incubator is as valuable as a small grant.

EU financing at a high level

For companies with ambitions beyond Norway there is significant money in the EU system. Horizon Europe is the EU's large framework programme for research and innovation, and part of it is the EIC (European Innovation Council), which among other things has an Accelerator aimed at growth companies with breakthrough technology.

This is demanding to apply for, and competition is fierce across Europe. But the amounts are large, and Norway participates fully in the programmes. Innovation Norway acts as the national contact point and can help you assess whether the EU route is realistic for you. See it as an opportunity you should be aware of, not a first choice for most early-stage companies.

An example of using the ecosystem

A founder in ocean technology in Ålesund first joins a relevant business cluster. Through the cluster she finds a research partner and, together with them, applies for an innovation project at the Research Council. At the same time she secures a small startup grant from the county to cover her first costs. None of the sources alone solves the financing, but together they provide money, an academic community and credibility.

Do this now

Spend twenty minutes mapping your local and regional support system. Look up your municipality's and county's business funds, find the nearest startup centre or incubator, and locate at least one business cluster relevant to your industry. Write down the contact points — this is often the most overlooked, and least competitive, financing there is.