A small and interactive face-to-face meeting with representatives from a ministry is a strong communication channel that provides the opportunity to focus on the ministry's needs and interests. Our aim is to discuss the ministry's specific current challenges at the local, regional or global situation. The ability of being perceptive is key to success in the field of applied research and Nordregio's expertise builds upon more than 30 years of cooperation in its field.
Accordingly, the discussions during the different meetings took different directions and revealed different perspectives. Some of the themes discussed were:
- Demographic challenges – what does it mean for regional development in Denmark and the Nordic countries?
- Green growth and innovation: Denmark's position in relation to Europe and the Nordic countries. Opportunities for regional development.
- EU's cohesion policy in Denmark. Challenges of peripheral areas. EU structural funds and perspectives for the new programming period.
Nordregio has been active in these fields in many different projects and has contributed with a significant number of essential analyses in recent years. For instance, developing, analysing and disseminating comparative demographic data for the Nordic countries is a central part of Nordregio's portfolio. Green growth is a theme with different labels and directions. Nordregio is working on this concept with a focus a regional perspective, both in relation to the Nordic countries and in a wider European context. When it comes to EU's cohesion policy and the challenges of peripheral areas, Nordregio is a well established research institute with both analyses and foresight methods.
During Nordregio's visits to Denmark the point of departure for the discussions on these themes was the Danish situation, the Danish context and Danish experiences. Thank you for helping us to focus our upcoming research towards the most pressing needs in Denmark.