Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to address this COST conference here in Bergen – the first one ever to be held in Norway. I would say that it is about time. Norway has been a member of COST since the beginning. And we will continue to be an active and devoted member.

Science and research are important subjects on the agenda of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It is an engine for economic growth. Being a small country, we realise that we cannot stand alone in this field. To be efficient and productive, we need to be inspired by and to take advantage from research made outside Norway. Hence, international interaction is vital to us. As a result, Norway takes part in a broad range of international research co-operation, COST being one important platform. Other arenas are the EU framework programmes, Eureka and the European Space Agency.

In Norway, as in many other western countries, innovation and entrepreneurship are priorities to the Government. Since we have traditionally been a primary goods-producing country, with fish, aluminium, and in the last decades oil and gas as main commodities, we have not been forced to be as innovative as many of our trade partners. We now realise that petroleum reserves will not last forever. And we have an expensive welfare state to maintain. Thus exploring other ways of securing our future has become a matter of necessity.

The Norwegian Prime Minister has launched a vision of Norway as one of the most innovative countries in the world. This implies being in the lead internationally in important areas such as knowledge, technology and wealth creation.

To achieve this vision, the Norwegian government has worked out a Comprehensive Innovation Policy where we focus on opportunities based on our assets: Rich natural resources, a highly educated population, a solid and stable economy, high ICT-penetration, strong knowledge and commercial clusters in many areas. If we are to succeed, we need to create a culture for entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the country. And we need to mobilise a broad range of actors: Apart from public sector administration and institutions we need entrepreneurs, companies, research institutions, educational systems and private capital to get involved.

Important elements to carry out our ambitious vision are enhanced focus on R&D for developing and improving high-tech and knowledge-based production. In fact, research and development are among the main sources of innovation and long-term growth. Perhaps the best examples from Norway come from the oil and gas industry as well as fish farming, two sectors whose success is inconceivable without vast R&D efforts.

During next year the Government will submit a white paper on research to the Storting. The Ministry of Education and Research has the main responsibility for the white paper, but the Ministry of Trade and Industry will naturally contribute in the process along with several other ministries.

In the white paper, the Government will review the Norwegian research institute sector in terms of its size, structure and role. It is about time to have a close look into the large research institute sector. It was created after the war in order to compensate for the Norwegian industrial structure, characterised by many small enterprises unable to carry out their own research.

The Government makes other important measures in the research policy area as well. The establishment of new Centres of Excellence and the creation of 200 new post-graduate fellowships are worth mentioning.

On an overall basis, Norwegian businesses invest less in R&D than our neighbouring countries. With this in mind, the authorities are financing a number of new programmes. Among these I would like to emphasize the tax deduction scheme for R&D projects, SkatteFUNN, which was introduced in 2002 and has become even more popular than first expected – particularly among the many small and medium-sized companies we have in Norway.

Another important measure is the recent reorganisation of the Research Council of Norway. In its new statutes, it is stated that the Council shall promote innovation throughout the country. As a follow up, the Research Council will strengthen its regional presence and its cooperation with the new governmental entity Innovation Norway.

There is a potential for increased cooperation between research centres and business and industry – from what I have been told by colleagues in other countries this is a challenge we all have in common. In Norway we hope that a new regulatory framework for management of externally financed activities on the part of universities will make a positive contribution. New programmes with the aim to increase personal mobility between research and industry will be also be encouraged.

Experience shows that only a limited number of new and patented ideas evolve into commercial success. Therefore, we would like to put increased focus on the commercialisation of research results, an objective that requires extensive cooperation and an appropriate division of labour between private and public parties. In this field, we will take steps to improve patenting activity, follow up the amendments in the Act on Copyright and disseminate knowledge about intellectual property rights. Equally important are the appropriations for the creation of five technology transmission offices at the universities as well as for the FORNY-programme for commercialisation of research-based business ideas.

Focus on commercialisation of research is important in international research cooperation as well. With regard to COST, I would like to challenge the delegates here today: Could you create a new mechanism to scrutinize completed COST-actions in order to pick out those that have a potential for commercialisation? And is it possible to channel these projects to other institutions capable of bringing them to the market?

Innovation is knowledge-based – and knowledge is international. Nothing is more international in its nature than art and science. Norwegians are well aware of the fact that approximately 99 per cent of all new knowledge and technology are developed outside our borders. Hence, to carry out our prime minister’s vision, we must strengthen Norway’s participation in international research cooperation.

Norway is a committed member of COST, and an enthusiastic participant in international research collaboration. Therefore, it is indeed a pleasure for me to open this COST conference in Bergen. Hosting an international research congress is not an everyday task for a small country like Norway.

I hope this conference will meet your expectations. And I believe that your co-operation with the European Science Foundation will be to the benefit both for you as an organization, and for the future of European research co-operation.

I wish you good luck with the conference here in Bergen.

Thank you for your attention.