The aim of this project is to study the relationship between the municipal institution and recent innovations in the Nordic periphery. The reasons for undertaking such a study are fairly obvious: nowadays, it has become the norm to highlight a region's innovative capacities as a crucial element in strategies for its development. In the Nordic periphery, local government has acquired a strong position in society, so there is a definite interest in studying the relation between innovative processes and the operation of the municipal institution.
A total of 21 Nordic municipalities have been studied in this project. In many respects, the area covered by the municipalities in this study may be characterized as part of the extreme periphery of Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, respectively.