Research, Development and Innovation
Finland ranks in the top three globally in R&D&I spending per capita (WEF 2006).
4.5% of total government spending in Finland is on R&D&I, or Research, Development and Innovation. Helsinki receives over 40% of all investment in research and product development by Finnish companies.
Thus creativity and innovation are the cornerstones of business in Helsinki. Users, companies, research institutions and universities, as well as public institutions, join together to form problem-solving communities. Direct government support through various funding institutions powers this cooperation. National funding of research and innovation is shaping Helsinki as a nationally and internationally important development platform environment. The strategic focus is to promote technology transfer and cooperation between universities and companies. 70 % of companies with R&D&I activities, cooperate with universities and universities of applied sciences.
Innovation drives success
In order for a small country to compete against larger nations in an increasingly globalised economy it is necessary to find an effective approach. Finland has found that focusing on knowledge-intensive industries and technologies is its way to success.
Finland has focused heavily on innovation and development in a number of industries, including forestry, chemicals, metals, information technology, biotechnology and environmental technology. Finnish innovation in information technologies and the telecommunications sector is well known, but this innovation is expanding into other fields.
The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Tekes is now forming five strategic centres to create a more efficient framework for collaboration between companies, universities, research organisations and sources of funding. These are to include energy and the environment, metals and mechanical engineering, forestry, health and information technology.
Other organisations focus exclusively on the high technology sectors. Technolopolis is the largest chain of science and technology parks in Finland. It alone generates over 100 new start-up companies a year. Otaniemi is a technology hub that features a unique mix of professionals, students, companies and organisations dedicated to research, academia and entrepreneurship.
With the highest proportion of researches to the total work force of any OECD country, Finland has invested heavily in its innovation culture. This has caught the attention of several multinationals who have decided to conduct their research and development in Finland. These corporations include GlaxoSmithKline from Britain and Ciba Specialty Chemicals from Switzerland.