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Have a Nice Travel Fly away Nutritional value Cutting the Cord
Return address:Nordic Innovation CentreStensberggata 25NO-0170 OsloNorway
Telephone: (+47) 476 14 [email protected]
INNOVATIVE TOURISM
Contents Letter from the Editor 1
Innovative Tourism 2
New funding programme: Innovation in the Nordic tourism sector 5
Have a Nice Travel 6
Fly away 8
Nutritional value 10
Not a Red Herring 13
Cutting the Cord 14
Nordic news and views 16
NEWS & VIEWS
There have always been consumer groups particularly interested in healthy eating, nutrition and products. The big change now is that the phenomenon has eaten its way into the bigger food segment. Some consumer groups are orientated against what to eat to keep alert and functioning well mentally, so called brain food.
10Everyone want’s to fly. Demand for air travel is growing rapidly, but capacity shortfalls and other efficiency constraints at the airport and with aircraft operations have impacted the environment negatively.
08One of the things with flying, is that the main objective is to get to wherever you are going as smoothly as possible. You want to get off the plane, get your bags and get going. Or you want to get to the airport, get rid of your bags, and get going. After all, an airport is not the most thrilling place in the world. It is merely an entry way to your destination.
06One of the great economic hopes for the Nordic region is tourism. Regions a bit in the periphery see tourism as fuelling their economical growth, increasing the employment and enhancing the quality of life.
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Editor-in-Chief: Ivar H. Kristensen Editor: Gaute Rossnes, Melita R. Hasle Text: Tonje Berg-Dawson Graphic Design/Layout: Blanke Ark Photo: Sverre Jarild, Istockphoto 13 Printing: RK Grafisk AS ISSN: 1503-9676 Nordic Innovation Centre, Stensberggata 25, NO-0170 Oslo, phone: (+47) 47 61 44 00, fax: (+47) 22 56 55 65, [email protected], www.nordicinnovation.net
Innovation to the people
Letter from the editor
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We at the Nordic Innovation Centre have a vision of promoting innovation throughout the Nordic region to the extent that it affects the daily lives of everyday people: Innovation to the people! This spring we introduce two new themes that can bring the vision closer to reality: One concerning healthier food choices and the other concerning tourism. We cover both themes in this issue of Innovate.
The focus area “Innovation in the Nordic Tourism Sector – New Products and Services” invites small and medium sized companies to apply for funding of projects that can come up with new innovative products and services in the tourism sector. The NICe report “Innovation systems in Nordic tourism” has been the theoretical foundation for the focus area. The authors of the report has contacted more than 60 interviews. The report concludes that tourism and related industries have limited access to general innovation resources and they are scarcely heard in general policy
making. The report argues that tourism exists in a policy vacuum, even though the economic potential for the sector is huge. The global population has never travelled as much as today. Economic growth in the middle classes of Europe as well as Asia, opens up new markets for our tourism businesses. If we can come up with new products and services that benefit from our Nordic climate rather than seeing it as an obstacle, or find ways to move the business beyond
seasonality, we might foster important new work opportunities in the rural parts of the Nordic countries.
Since the previous issue of Innovate Kjetil Storvik has left NICe for a new job in the consulting business. Until we employ a new director general at NICe, I have been given the job to lead the team until a new leader is on board. This is a job of great responsibility that I appreciate. NICe is currently in a phase where we are given new tasks and responsibilities within the Nordic cooperation and as well as administrative tasks within different EU projects. We take on all of these challenges with enthusiasm, and hope that the different projects will lead us closer to our vision of bringing innovation out to the people.
Ivar H. KristensenManaging Director (Const.)/Editor-in-ChiefNordic Innovation Centre (NICe)
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Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Authors: Håvard Sunde, Heino Winther, Petter Thune-Larsen
Nice Travel
January 2008
Opportunities and challenges that airports, airlines and service providers are facing
Enabling better passenger services, more efficient baggage handling, improved security and giving the passenger a nice travel experience using AutoID/RFID technology
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Innovative TourismOne of the great economic hopes for the Nordic region is tourism. Regions a bit in the periphery see tourism as fuelling their economical growth, increasing the employment and enhancing the quality of life. But in order to entice more people to visit, one has to think fresh. What in these surroundings could interest tourists? When looking around for the tourist interest, it is important to remember that even the Seven Wonders of the World were common place to the people living there. The things you are used to, does not seem quite so spectacular any more. But it still is for others.
By identifying the main drivers for growth in the tourism, a leap is taken forward to secure more travellers choosing to come to one of the most expensive places on the planet. The recently concluded NICe-project ‘Innovation Systems in Nordic Tourism’ took a closer look at tourism and innovation in the Nordic countries. With the objective of outlining the constituents of success in this industry, and finding out what can be done to facilitate and maintain success through policy measures, the research draws on theories of innovation systems and reviews of innovation policy in the Nordic countries. – The theoretical approach was combined with an in-depth look at ten detailed successful tourism case-studies, two from each Nordic country, informs Peter Bjørk at the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, who has managed the study. We concluded with a detailed seven general policy frameworks that should be of great interest to both industry players, and regulatory bodies, in order to stimulate a more innovative thinking approach, he continues.
Pay to be coldMost of the Nordic people used to the snow, the cold and the dark winter times find it slightly odd that anyone would pay to be cold, or to experience the dark gloom of the winter days. But for someone that has never experienced it, it’s exotic and exiting. Spending the
night in an ice hotel might just be the ticket, having a drink where the glass is the ice, and sleeping on reindeer skins, is something to write home about if you come from a land of snow-free winters. The Icehotel Corporation in Sweden has gradually expanded, from offering just ice sculptures and igloos at first, to now having an ice hotel, a church and ice bars. A perfect example of putting a spin on the long, dark winters of the north and turning it into an attraction. It certainly goes straight into turning a perceived weakness, into strength.
A Finnish tourism venture has also been clever at capitalising on their resources of ice, snow and cold. They turned themselves into Santa Claus’ Village, striking a deal with an airline to offer charter planes to Santa Claus from England. It is truly a genius idea tapping into the myths all western parents tell their children, which has managed to
consistently evolve and grow since the start. Any parent would be tempted to take the children on a magical journey to se Father Christmas at home, and the further away you live from the winter snow, the more magical it is. – Both these cases show the importance of looking at the surroundings, and thinking outside the box when it comes to making new attractions, Bjørk comments.
New combinationsBut what exactly are tourism innovations? Well, the same understanding of innovation is used in this sector as in any other, innovations are new combinations of things, Peter Bjørk informs. Like the ice hotel in Sweden. The innovations show themselves in the new products, the new services, the new processes that these new combinations of things bring about. And innovation is best fostered by dense networks of linkages. But in order to come up with this new combination
“…There is a lack of focus on industry innovation in the tourism polices on a regional, national and trans-national level, something that should be amended.”
Peter BjørkSwedish School of Economics and Business Administration
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of already existing things, one has to be able to think fresh. There is a reason that it is a new combination, and someone has to have the vision. And then that someone has to convince the others that it is a good idea. Sometimes it can be hard to be the one that does not imitate, but innovates.
And then it is the steady current of keeping in touch with the evolving need of the guest, the consumer or the tourist. Each generation has their special requests, secret desires and dreams. What worked ten years ago, might not be so popular next season. The ability to reinvent oneself, looking for new angles, new offerings in synch with the times, is important. Who would have thought 40 years ago, that people would pay good money to go on a boat trip and maybe, just maybe catch a glimpse of a whale?
– The purpose of the study has been to understand the dynamics of innovation in tourism when it comes to the relation between the actors, document outcomes of innovative practices, lay foundations for Nordic policy facilitating tourism development, establish Nordic commonalties when it comes to tourism innovation systems, and understand the driving forces and impediments for tourism innovation, Bjørk says.
Finding the matchWhen looking for competitive edges in the natural local resources, the example of the Japanese and their belief that seeing the northern light on the honeymoon is a sign of a happy marriage, is good to have in mind. Who would have thought of offering romantic
holidays for newly wed Japanese couples, if no one had started asking why the Japanese were so keen on seeing the northern light?
Iceland has been clever with turning a disadvantage into a tourist attraction. The country received quite a lot of negative attention with it’s whaling industry, but have successfully managed to reinvent itself as ‘the’ place to go for whale watching. The area of Husavik in Iceland are now thought of as Europe’s Whale Watching Capital, and have created secondary businesses like the whaling museum, and new restaurants catering for the tourists. Presumably without whale burgers on the menu.
Success similaritiesSome of the main findings from studying the ten success stories are that they all have an increasing cross-sector outreach. There is an increasing global outreach, the second comers to innovation being promoted; and there is a multitude of actors, together with a diversity and density of relations. In addition, all the cases had the public sector playing a decisive role facilitating innovative practises. At the same time, formal tourism policy was often conspicuous by its absence. The public sector may play a hampering role, although most innovative systems are able to turn public regulation to business advantages.
– The conclusion is clear. Policy measures can affect driving forces and amend incentives and disincentives. Even though policy in itself can not facilitate growth of successful innovation,
it can maintain successful systems by supporting innovative capacities and establishing a regulatory environment that is flexible to the needs of the tourism industry. There is a lack of focus on industry innovation in the tourism polices on a regional, national and trans-national level, something that should be amended, Bjørk says.
Some tips to consider are that moving advanced scientific and technical knowledge into tourism can be done by building new linkages and technology booster mechanisms. The different regions could benefit better from exchanging ideas and knowledge, by promoting export of franchises, concepts, events and merchandising. The best of the Nordic welfare policies are outstanding on a global scale, and could be used in a tourism context. In addition, the emphasis should be placed on customer-driven innovation across the Nordic countries. Innovation awareness and innovation competence are vital for SMEs, voluntary organisations and public bodies working in the fringe areas of tourism innovation systems.
By getting a new handle on the Nordic seasons, a new way of understanding the natural Nordic climate and cultural tradition, tourism can move beyond tradition. The known can be combined to make new innovative tourist attractions.
Contact: Petra Nilsson-Andersen
Nordic Innovation Centre
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The Nordic tourism sector has strong potential for further innovation and development. Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) introduces a new focus area and funding programme: “Innovation in the Nordic Tourism Sector – New Products and Services”. NICe invites small and medium sized companies, and other relevant actors, to apply for funding of co-operative tourism innovation projects. The proposals should primarily focus on the development of innovative products, services and concepts to accelerate the Nordic tourism sector.
The purpose of this new funding programme is to promote innovation in the Nordic tourism sector. NICe invites Nordic, West Atlantic and Baltic Sea actors from the tourism industry and small and medium sized companies to submit project proposals (Expressions of Interest - EOIs). Industry federations, innovation institutes, national and regional public bodies, market research organisations, trade associations and other relevant organisations can also submit proposals.
The overarching goal for the funding programme is to foster new comprehensive experience products, services, export concepts, cross-sector approaches and new forms of organisation, as well as new marketing methods and sustainable tourism.
NICe’s estimated budget for the funding programme is NOK 12 million.
If you have questions, please contact our innovation advisers:Hans Christian Bjørne or Natalia Grebennik.
DeadlineThe deadline for submitting short project proposals (EOIs) is:June 6th 2008, 24:00 hours.
Contact persons:Hans Christian BjørneInnovation advisorMobile phone: +47 - 99 00 99 [email protected]
Natalia GrebennikInnovation advisorMobile phone: +47-410 45 [email protected]
This programme addresses the following six themes:
1. User-driven innovation and effective market commu-nication in tourism
2. Public-private partnerships supporting innovation in the tourism sector
3. Moving beyond tradition and tackling seasonality in tourist destinations
4. Eco- and nature-based tourism5. Nordic tourism: Business concepts, products and
services for global markets6. Access to capital and financing of the tourism sector
New funding programme:
Innovation in the Nordic tourism sector – New products and services
Contact: Hans Christian Bjørne Nordic Innovation Centre [email protected]
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Have a Nice Travel One of the things with flying, is that the main objective is to get to wherever you are going as smoothly as possible. You want to get off the plane, get your bags and get going. Or you want to get to the airport, get rid of your bags, and get going. After all, an airport is not the most thrilling place in the world. It is merely an entry way to your destination.
By speeding up the process of handling bags, you can be on your way quicker, and with a smile on your face. The recently concluded project ‘Nice Travel’ looked at how to increase efficiency and improve security with the use of radio frequency identification technology (RFID), and thereby generating business for baggage and passenger services. - If we manage to create co-operation on a Nordic level in developing this, consisting of all the airports, we can achieve a streamlined service. This can provide a competitive edge. It is vital to se the Nordic region as one market, says Petter Thune-Larsen from the RFID Innovation Centre in Norway. He has been the project co-ordinator for Nice Travel.
The advances of new technology are an important aid, making the tourist and traveller industry capable of meeting new demands. RFID-chips will replace bar codes, and play a large part in the upcoming wave of technology implementation at airports, and other service providers in the tourism industry.
Smart baggage tagsNot surprisingly, the Nice Travel project has been met with great interest by the airlines and the whole of the aviation
industry. By having new RFID baggage tags, a mini transponder is effectively returning radio frequency signals to a receiver, telling where the luggage is at all times. This way the system knows exactly where the baggage is, resulting in a more efficient handling of this baggage. As a consequence, fewer bags will be lost.
There is one major reason for the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) strong focus on RFID-technology; simplifying business. By using RFID when handling baggage, multiple benefits are created, both for the flying customers and the industry itself. - The number of mishandled bags can be reduced, the passengers’ minds can be put at ease, and more accurate and speedier baggage handling and transfers can be achieved. In addition customer information and query services can be improved, Thune-Larsen says. Throw in the strong and growing competition existing in the aviation industry, and it is clear that any competitive advantage can go a long way
Another focal point was to establish new business clusters within the Nordic countries and a better collaboration between Nordic airports and airlines. This way the results can be used in a
joint effort to benefit from the AutoID-technologies. And last, but not least, create ideas for the Nordic tourism industry on how they can benefit from the use of AutoID-technologies in other parts of the travel value chain. A desired outcome is to make travelling easier, more efficient and more enjoyable throughout the Nordic region. Sounds like a win-win.
How to competeFact is that the Nordic tourist and travel industry is facing new costly requirements when it comes to security, efficiency, and the tourists’ expectations of service. The competition is increasing steadily within the aviation market, making the airlines and the airport more innovative when it comes to how they can both improve their efficiency, and their cost-effectiveness. The industry is growing at a fast pace, and numerous Nordic airports are expanding. They are planning new terminal buildings, more advanced technology solutions, faster baggage handling, on time scheduling and real time traveller information. All of these will become important in the growing competition in the years to come. – The discussion however has been who should cover the costs of implementing
“If we manage to create co-operation on a Nordic level in developing this, consisting of all the airports, we can achieve a streamlined service. This can provide a competitive edge. It is vital to se the Nordic region as one market.”
Petter Thune-LarsenRFID Innovation Centre
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new RFID-technology. The airlines or the airports? The debate centres on who are to reap the benefit and who gets to foot the bill, he continues.
Steady growthThe aviation industry is growing more than five percent a year. This number is valid for both the number of passengers and the cargo that needs to be handled. There is a long timeframe involved in improving infrastructure, making it necessary to make do with what one has.
At the same time the number of mishandled bags have increased, going up from 13,7 per thousand passengers in 2004, to 15,7 in 2007. This number makes an annual increase of 1.2 million extra lost bags, just by the major airlines in Europe. A good tracking device locating those bags, sounds like a good idea. – The chip itself only costs a couple of crowns (NOK), Thune-Larsen informs.
The Nice Travel project mainly looked at the aviation industry, and had major airports and airlines in the Nordic countries as its main target group. And of course, there is the official authorities represented at national borders, such as the police and customs. Many different stakeholders have an interest in issues related to the use of this technology within the tourism and travel industry, the main ones of course being the travel and service providers.
Imagine itAn important aspect to remember is that if standard RFID-tags are offered to the travellers, the technology can also be used by many other actors in the tourism sector. – Why not the big hotel chains, the cruise lines, the railroads, bus services and travel services? They can offer value added services, built around the information carried in the RFID-tags, he says. The same tag can be used by different businesses within the tourist sector. RFID-technology could also be used for making payments, securing hand luggage, looking after certain passenger groups like children travelling alone, or elderly passengers. Frequent travellers could receive special attention, if that is desired. It’s really a case of the imagination setting the limits.
The project found that the airlines benefit the most from RFID-solutions, but that this hinges on the investments in the airports’ infrastructure. Off-airport services will make the processes on the airport quicker and more efficient. Different services can be targeted for different passenger groups, according to their need. The interest in new technology is accelerating, and the experience of the traveller can be improved by focus on combined use of ICT and RFID. Innovation is the key to continued business success for tourism, as in any other business. A successful
implementation of RFID in the Nordic tourism and aviation industry depends on the willingness and ability to innovate. The technology is already here.
Future flightFirst you book your ticket on the internet, so that the only thing you have to keep track of is your e-ticket, if you don’t travel using your credit card or bonus card. At the airport you go to a central check-in spot, take care of the procedures yourself and receive a RFID-tag that you attach to the bag. Then you drop off the bag, proceed to security clearance and are on your way. There will be noticeable less stress involved. Maybe you have RFID-sensors built into your frequent flyer-card, or a transfer card that guides you the right way through the maze at the airport. Arriving at your destination, you pick up your cell phone to check the status of your luggage, using the SMS-service the airline provides. The travel future envisioned by Nice Travel sure sounds sweet.
Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Authors: Håvard Sunde, Heino Winther, Petter Thune-Larsen
Nice Travel
January 2008
Opportunities and challenges that airports, airlines and service providers are facing
Enabling better passenger services, more efficient baggage handling, improved security and giving the passenger a nice travel experience using AutoID/RFID technology
Contact: Petter Thune-Larsen
RFID Innovation Centre
Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Authors: Nina B. Rasmussen, Lars Aalvik, Thor Breien, Per Ahl and Hans Erik Swendgaard
Clean Nordic and Baltic sky Feasibility Study
January 2008
Air transport stakeholders' future requirements for environmental friendly operations��
Needs for cooperation and information networks technologies
A simplified concept for collaborative information shearing��
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“We should utilise the Nordic and Baltic fellowship to achieve an innovative edge, making it possible for us to participate in the European competitive race. ”
Hans Erik SwendgaardSINTEF ICT
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Fly away Everyone want’s to fly. Demand for air travel is growing rapidly, but capacity shortfalls and other efficiency constraints at the airport and with aircraft operations have impacted the environment negatively. We need to find ways to boost efficiency without increasing emissions, to find ways to grow in finite airspace and airport resources. At the same time we ensure a high level of safety. The feasibility study ‘Clean Nordic and Baltic Sky’ set out to trace the outline of how. It is a co-operation initiative that includes air navigation service providers (ANSP), airports, airline companies and the industry. There is a need for airspace optimisation, a need to cut operating costs, minimise environmental impacts and improve safety and security levels. These targets can not be met in the current framework.
Behold Sesar– SESAR is all about preparing for the expected increase, improving security and reducing damaging emissions, says Hans Erik Swendgaard from SINTEF ICT in Norway. He is referring to the operational part of the legislative packages of the Single European Sky initiative launched by the European Commission in 2004. It has its target set at unlocking viable growth in air transport, and is proposing a new approach to reform the European air traffic management structure. Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) has identified environmental sustainability as one of its top Key Performance Areas, and aims at meeting the political target of 10 % environmental impact reduction per flight as an air traffic management (ATM) contribution to wider aviation sustainability aims.
– The world is changing, and the Nordic and Baltic countries should lift shoulder-to-shoulder in order to make us innovative and competitive, Hans Erik Swendgaard comments. - We should utilise the Nordic and Baltic fellowship to achieve an innovative edge, making it possible for us to advance in the European competitive race.
Clarity neededThe feasibility study showed that indistinct views on “who is whom’s customer” could be one of the reasons for the quite modest Nordic air traffic management (ATM) co-operation. The emerging picture shows that international co-operation seems to be limited to collaboration with similar organisations, thus the Nordic airports have a forum, the Nordic ANSP have a forum and so on. In addition, different cultures and growing demands met by a fractionated system based on old technologies are hampering Nordic and Baltic ATM-cooperation. There are several promising initiatives on the way, but the future market potential is still difficult to estimate.
Rising into the air Air travel currently accounts for about 3 % of CO2 emissions worldwide, but the figure is set to grow as passenger numbers increase by 5 % every year. Reducing this carbon footprint is important. The challenges facing us are boosting international competitiveness, together with the need to tackle climate changes. Air travel is not going to disappear, so it is vital to find smart technological solutions that can keep emissions down. The Nordic ATM industry wants to offer real
usable technologies, with focus on a cleaner, greener and more competitive technology. This way operating an airport can be done with improved precision, less cost, less delay and less impact on the environment. – It is vital to understand the differing needs relevant for the air travel industries in the Nordic countries. We have to achieve a clearer picture of the real challenges, and how we best can meet them, says Swendgaard.
The importance of having the service providers, the airlines and the industry working together in a good way can not be stressed enough. Reduced fuel consumption is directly linked to reduced emissions, thus striving for cost-efficiency and competitiveness benefits the environment. The environmental impact of air transport can be reduced both by lowering gaseous emissions, and by improving the aircrafts’ fuel economy. And it is necessary to do both. The heaven placed as a firmament above us, is the only one. A single sky.
Contact:
Hans Erik Swendgaard
SINTEF ICT
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Nutritional value There have always been consumer groups particularly interested in healthy eating, nutrition and products. The big change now is that the phenomenon has eaten its way into the bigger food segment. Some consumer groups are orientated against what to eat to keep alert and functioning well mentally, so called brain food. Some consumers are in their middle years, and preoccupied with eating to stay healthy and happy longer. It is all linked together, showing up as a greater taste for healthy nutrition, and presenting a challenge for the food industry. For how to communicate with the market, and to place your brand in people’s consciousness? The project ‘SMEs Commercialising Healthy Nutrition’ set out to find out what the drivers in the healthy nutritional industry for small and medium sized companies (SMEs) in the Nordic countries are.
The study mapped current initiatives, networks and programs that support the commercialisation of functional foods and healthy nutrition in the Nordic countries. SMEs working with food and health in the different Nordic countries were mapped, and categorised. – It was a big job identifying all the SMEs, analysing their sizes and how active they were. This was a much larger job than initially anticipated. It proved our initial assumption that little was known about Nordic small and medium sized companies within this industry segment and spurred us on. We identified approximately 200 small and medium sized companies working with healthy nutrition. But despite our efforts, we are aware that there still are many companies that we haven’t been able to identify as yet. A positive note is that many companies contacted us themselves during the project, a development we expect to continue, says
Patricia Wiklund, at Invenire Market Intelligence Oy in Finland. She has been the leader of this project. – The term ‘Healthy Nutrition’ was chosen due to it being more consumer oriented. The area of functional food is a quite narrow segment, and it does not always match with what ordinary people see as healthy nutrition, she informs.
Surprising diversityFifty companies took part in the e-survey, and twenty of these were analysed further through in-depth interviews. The chosen candidates for the interviews all shed light on different strategic approaches of bringing healthy nutrition to the market place. Armed with the details provided, Invenire Market Intelligence conducted a survey of the Nordic companies. - One of the most important findings was the variety among the SMEs; the old, the new, the traditional, the innovative.
That the differences were so great, was a surprising discovery. This makes it difficult to find a common profile, and this is a fact that it is important that the stakeholders understand, Wiklund continues. The importance of knowledgeThe commercialisation and marketing competence in Nordic SMEs is quite low. This applies particularly to health ingredient and technology based companies. Nordic SMEs keep up a high rate of product development despite their small size and limited resources. This rat wheel approach is exhausting the companies. Many lack a broad understanding of the market and have for the most part little understanding of consumer behaviour, and importance of marketing and branding in creating value for the firm. – The challenge for the SMEs is to understand their own level of marketing knowledge, and the
“The biggest challenge in commercialising healthy nutrition is to raise the competence of commerciali-sation and marketing management. Strategically, more focus and more resources need to be directed to these tasks. The tools offered by the policy makers ought to be much more concrete, goal-oriented and suitable to the actual SME in question.”
Patricia WiklundInvenire Market Intelligence Oy
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Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Author: Patricia Wiklund, Invenire Market Intelligence Oy
Nordic SMEs commercializing healthy nutrition
November 2007
Who is successful in commercialsing healthy nutrition?
Why do products fail?
Ways forward?
level of marketing knowledge required to achieve greater success in this industry. It is necessary with an awareness of ones shortcomings in order to move ahead, she comments.
Particularly small businesses need to learn more about commercialisation process management and what it entails. A main conclusion is that many SMEs struggle to manage the commercialisation process professionally, and to keep their commercialisation activities in balance. As a result, many experience a constant lack of resources, hindering them from meeting their targets.
– The SMEs would benefit greatly from focusing on keeping their products alive on the shop shelf. Once they have come up with a new product and introduced it to the market, they ought to shift focus to keeping their product in the consumers’ minds. Many companies try to keep up by launching new products all too often. Both the focus and the money are better spent on maintaining consumer interest, and increase awareness about already
launched products. Basically, you should focus on what you already have in the market, Wiklund advises.
The recipe – Some of the current initiatives and projects targeting functional foods and healthy nutrition appear too disconnected from the everyday operations of running a business, and therefore also fail in bringing benefits to, or support the competitive edge of the companies involved, she informs. Despite good intentions, some of the initiatives focused on this segment have failed to direct their actions and resources accordingly, resulting in disappointing outcomes and feeding an increasing fatigue towards public initiatives. The biggest challenge in commercialising healthy nutrition is to raise the competence of commercialisation and marketing management. Strategically, more focus and more resources need to be directed to these tasks. The tools offered by the policy makers ought to be much more concrete, goal-oriented and suitable to the actual SME in question, she says.
- We recommend a more systematic long term view in order to monitor the Nordic SMEs in the area of healthy nutrition. Having an updated database of the relevant companies could be of assistance for a number of stakeholders, providing accurate information. An interesting avenue to explore is the potential benefits of joint marketing, PR and branding efforts. We believe that this should be explored further. In addition, steps taken to support the SMEs in acquiring stronger marketing skills should be supported. Concrete initiatives could be measures taken in connection with trade fairs and other international gatherings. By improving the companies’ ability to communicate with the consumers, their taste buds can be tempted. It is all about working up an appetite.
Contact: Patricia Wiklund
Invenire Market Intelligence Oy
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Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Authors: Ásbjörn Jónsson et al.
Improved quality of herring for humans
November 2007
Not a Red HerringThe project ‘Improved Quality of Herring for Humans’ took a closer look on what to do with the herring after it is caught swimming around in the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. The fish itself probably does not consider being one of the most desired fish species necessarily such a good thing. It only makes it a popular target, the annual catch exceeding two million tonnes. But after landing the fish, what then? Could the quality of the raw material be improved? In order to make better use of the fish as raw material, it was important to study the various parameters that influenced the quality. Especially important was finding out how these parameters were controlled by biological factors. By improving the quality, one might spawn the consumers’ desire for more.
A freezing matterA major reason for the quality problems is the high content of compounds that efficiently catalyzes the development of rancidity, pigmentation, texture changes and loss of nutritional value. It all came down to matter of degrees. Special attention was given to the status of the herring immediately after landing the fish, and then again after a period of frozen storage. The results showed no clear differences in herring quality when it came to where it was caught, or when it was caught. The freezing however, mattered greatly. Herring being frozen at -20°C kept poorly. Being frozen at -80°C however, the fish only showed very minor changes, even after 18 months of frozen storage. So when it comes to herring, it pays to freeze. The colder, the better.
Contact: Gudjon Þorkelsson
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Cutting the CordThe little girl is strapped down in an oversized hospital bed. Close to being put in a respirator, her oxygen level is monitored with a watchful eye. But whenever the little girl twists and turn, the wire no longer properly reads the signal from the oxygen sensor. Or any other of the sensors she is attached to. The machine that goes ‘beep’ does just that, goes beep. Numerous times her mother rises from her vigil, and presses the button to call the nurse. Mom can’t tell if the alarm is real, or false. Too many times the nurse rushes to the room for no reason, only to turn the child over, to adjust the wire going to the sensors, and leave. Time that could’ve been spent in a better way, caring for little patients in need. Not to talk about the anxiety and fear the little girl’s mother meets numer-ous times that night. An unnecessary fear it turns out to be, but how is she to know that?
Bio-medical wireless sensors present brand new medical possibilities. These sensors will play an important role in our health care, and the industry has only started to build the future that will be our medical reality. If the little girl had been fitted with wireless sensors, the reading would have come in strong and clear at all times. And the little girl could have rested a bit easier, saving her strength for healing her tiny body.
Wireless future – The hospitals of the future will have wireless medical sensors fully integrated, and will operate with an automated flow of information. It will involve a new kind of logistic, a new kind of journal keeping and a new way of thinking of hospitals. This is already seen in the way new hospitals are being designed and built in the Nordic countries. The words belong to Eirik Næss-Ulseth at Novelda AS, project manager for the recently concluded NICe-project Biomedical Wireless Sensor Network (BWSN). – The purpose of the project was to develop,
implement and test a biomedical wireless sensor network made up of sensors that communicate wirelessly with the patients control device, for monitoring and external communication for the future wireless hospital and home care. The scene was the Interventional Centre at the Norwegian National Hospital. A total of four different sensors were tested in a hospital environment, in an operating theatre. An ECG sensor, a wireless pressure transducer, an air leakage sensor and a heart monitor accelerator made up the integrated network.
Tied down Today cords tie patients down, chaining them to their hospital beds. Today wires attach patients to machines, in order to read different values of oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate and other vital data. The wires are vulnerable for movement, moving the patient can result in dislocating a wire, and set off false alarms. Or the much needed alarm signal might not go off when it should. Because of a loose cord.
The BWSN project form an important platform for further technical and business development in order to penetrate the market, which is expected to grow significantly in the future. Based on the results from the project, a BWSN phase 2 has been suggested, extended with the participation of SINTEF Norway. – The main conclusion in the BWSN-project shows the future opportunities for supporting mobility while monitoring vital body functions in hospital and home care. In this project important technical barriers have been crossed, but it needs to develop further in order to cover security handling, improved signal integration, visualisation, and a commercial technical platform for rolling out sensor networks on the market. There are still the issues of extended mobility outside the surgery room, reaching the possibility of monitoring several patients at the same time, and further adaptations to the medical experts’ information requirements. This includes integration with other patient systems, Næss-Ulseth continues.
“In ten years most of us will carry some kind of medical sensor on our body. This could be a blood pressure sensor, or a stress sensor, or maybe a choles-terol sensor. But we will choose to be monitored by these sensors because they offer us peace of mind. Granting us the gift of information, knowledge and safety.”
Eirik Næss-UlsethNovelda AS
Life science
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INN
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A unique trans-national value chain was established, and carried the BWSN-project on its way to completion. The chain crossed the borders of Finland, Norway and Sweden, showing promising results for the benefits of trans-national health chains. In the planned BWSN phase 2, also an enterprise in Denmark will participate in the project. – The Nordic perspective is crucial in order to reach complete and satisfactory solutions. The key to success for the Nordic countries are substantial Nordic collaboration, something that will enable us to be competitive and successful. In Norway we are good at developing the core technology; in Sweden they are good at the commercialising process, turning the technology into industry. Finland is very good at the electronic side. It is also important to treat the Nordic region as an inner market, he comments.
Cost-efficient and patient friendly – In the operation theatre, the sensors monitoring the patient are the same for each and all, there are four or five parameters that are standard; checking the oxygen level, the blood pressure and so on. But when the patient leaves the operation table, and are to go back home if it is a case of day surgery, or are to spend some time at the patient hotel, the sensors need to be individually catered to the patient and his or her specific illness or operation. Then it all depends on what kind of illness you suffer from, says researcher Dag
Ausen at SINTEF ICT in Norway.There is a critical need for more cost efficient solutions for supervision and monitoring of patients during and after surgery, as well as when the patient is at home. Advanced sensors combined with wireless communication will give reduced costs, improved monitoring, and better life quality for these patients. Another alternative for wireless sensor technology is the use of sensors in the pre-operation phase. This way one can safeguard that the patient is in optimal shape for operation. This also has a cost reduction side to it, since it enables the hospitals to maximise the actual use of operation theatres.
– The important thing to keep in focus here is that if we can automate monitoring vital body functions to wireless sensors, or reducing time spent on paperwork, we could free human resources. Making more hands available for care, real humans to show empathy and compassion, he continues. Ausen was project leader for the foresight study leading up to the BWSN-project, and are involved in the planning for the second phase of the project.
Future health Wireless biomedical sensors can moni-tor cholesterol levels, blood pressure, insulin levels, hearth rhythm or any other parameter deemed necessary for your health. The sensors can be implanted, or placed onto your body. Any irregularities
can be picked up, and communicated to medical professionals in real time. For our growing elderly population in all the Nordic countries, this means they can stay longer in their own homes.
– In ten years most of us will carry some kind of medical sensor on our body. This could be a blood pressure sensor, or a stress sensor, or maybe a cholesterol sensor. But we will choose to be monitored by these sensors because they offer us peace of mind. Granting us the gift of information, knowledge and safety, says Næss-Ulseth. Sensors implanted into the body will mean that you can rest easy, being safe that your health is looked after. If any of the monitored values reach a critical level, an alarm can be set to go off. The need to stay in hospital in order to be properly monitored will in many cases be obsolete. You can go home, carry on with your life and still be in the best medical hands.
For the medical profession it will mean an accurate and steady flow of important information. For the health care industry it will mean cost-reductions and an overall improvement in the use of available personnel and medical equipment. For you it will mean increased mobility, safety and peace of mind. Finally the doctors are cutting the cord.
Download the report fromwww.nordicinnovation.net
Author: Eirik Næss-Ulseth with support from all partners
Biomedical Wireless Sensor Network
December 2007
Advanced sensors combined with wireless communication
Future opportunities for supporting mobility while monitoring vital body functions in hospital and home care
Reduced costs, improved monitoring, and better life quality for the patient
Contact: Eirik Næss-Ulseth
Novelda AS
Danish researchers at the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus
have discovered that the lens of the eye can tell the exact date of birth
of a human being. The trick is to measure the level of carbon isotope
C-14 in the lens of the eye. › Source: www.healthsciences.ku.dk
The 36 year old Norwegian
musician Øyvind Brandtsegg
has created a new instrument
that is a mix of a laptop and
a sound generator, making it
possible to compose and play
music at the same time. By
sampling the various sounds in
different ways, new phrasings
are created, whilst the melody
still can be recognised. The
new instrument is the result of
his doctoral thesis, giving real
time music a new edge.
› Source: www.ntnu.no/gemini
Eternal data
The next three years the human kind will create the same amount of
information as all of humanity have managed to this day. But while we
are still deciphering the hieroglyphs of the Egyptians, the modern mans’
electronic information is in a real danger of being lost, or maybe worse,
being impossible to understand for the generations coming after us. Two
Norwegian scientists at the NTNU are trying hard to stop the digital time
bomb. They are leading a project called LongRec to find solutions for long
time storage of electronic information. › Source: www.forskning.no
Telling eyes…
Jamming with Bethoven
NORDIC NEWS & VIEWS
Dress to live
The Norwegian outdoor wear
manufacturer Helly Hansen and
SINTEF have come up with a new
generation helicopter protective
clothing. It cools the body when it is
hot inside the cabin, but transforms
to an insulating and protective suit
if the user falls into the sea. The
new helicopter suit has even won a
design award. Dressing smart never
made more sense. › Source: www.sintef.no
1 › 2008Enhancing innovation capabilities
NEWS & VIEWS
Electron caught on camera
By putting new laser technology to good use, Swedish
researchers have managed to film the electron bouncing on a
light wave, after being pulled away from an atom. › Source: www.vr.se
Darwin got yellow legged chickens all wrong,
Greger Larson, a Research Fellow at Uppsala
University and at Durham University, UK has
found out. The ironic thing is that Darwin believed
dogs were hybrids of several wild ancestors, but
that chickens only had one. He was wrong on
both counts. › Source: www.uu.se
Darwin was wrong
Blue-eyed mutants
All people with blue eyes are related to a single common
ancestor, a team at the the University of Copenhagen found out.
They have tracked down a 6-10.000 year old genetic mutation
responsible for the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on
the planet. › Source: www.healthsciences.ku.dk/
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Nordic Innovation Centre
The Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) initiates and finances activities that enhance innovation collaboration and develop and maintain a smoothly functioning market in the Nordic region.
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NORDIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE 2008Stockholm, Sweden, August 27th -28th 2008
The Swedish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, together with the Nordic Innovation Centre, invites you to the “Nordic Entrepreneurship Conference 2008” in Stockholm, Sweden.
Maud Olofsson, as Minister for enterprise and energy has in the Swedish presidency highlighted the importance of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity in our region. The conference will focus particularly on entrepreneurship within environmental technology and tourism, as well as women entrepreneurs.
This conference is an arena for dialogue between entrepreneurs, policy-makers and business associations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We look forward to stimulating discussions on ways in which the Nordic countries can promote more entrepreneurship and thereby enhance the competitiveness of the Nordic business environment. For preliminary program and early registration:www.nordicinnovation.net
Contact:Markus ZackrissonNordic Innovation [email protected]
