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ACTION PLAN FOR

BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT

IN BERGEN 2017-18

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

THE CITY GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION. THE CITY GOVERNMENT AND COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IDENTICAL

At its meeting on 21 June 2017, Bergen City Council

considered Proposition No. 189-17 and passed the

following resolution:

1. The City Council adopts the Action Plan for

Business Development in Bergen 2017-2018.

2. The plan will be rolled over for the period 2019-20

and an updated version will be laid before the City

Council, with a status report, in spring 2019.

COMMENT

The City Council asks the City Government to evaluate a

municipal certification scheme for guides.

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Translator’s note Many of the links included in the footnotes in this document lead to sites that are in Norwegian only, but short passages of introductory text before each link are translated into English so that the subject of the link is clear.

ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

BACKGROUND

In Proposition No. 178-15 on 24.06.2015, the City

Council adopted its strategic plan for business in the

Bergen Region 2015-2020 (‘Strategisk næringsplan for

Bergensregionen 2015-2020 - SNP’) and associated

measures plan (‘Tiltak 2015/2016’) in the following

resolution:

1. The City Council adopts the strategic plan for

business in the Bergen Region 2015-2020 (SNP)

and the measures plan for 2015-2016. Bergen

Municipality intends to integrate the elements of

the plan with other relevant municipal plans.

2. The City Council presumes there will be a progress

report on the measures plan in spring 2017, and that

a new action plan for business development in

Bergen 2015/2016 will be submitted to the City

Council in autumn 2015.

When SNP was approved by the County Executive Board

on 18.06.2015, it was also resolved that the associated

action plan should be rolled over every second year.

Bergen Municipality has made arrangements for a similar

rollover.

The action plan for 2015-2016 was adopted by Bergen

City Council on 25.11.2015, in Proposition No. 311-15. A

report on the plan was enclosed with the proposition. The

rollover of the Action Plan for 2017-18 has been delayed

by the closure of Business Region Bergen (BRB).

Hordaland County Municipality (‘Hordaland

Fylkeskommune - HFK’) is responsible for coordinating

the rollover of SNP and will address this in the context of

a regional business plan. The Action Plan for Business

Development in Bergen in 2017-2018 is a rollover of its

predecessor in 2015-16. It describes the main priority

areas for Bergen Municipality’s work on business

development during the next two years and explains how

it will contribute to attaining the SNP goals.

1. FUNDAMENTAL GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE MUNICIPALITY’S WORK ON

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The City Government’s political platform states that local

initiatives must be seen in the context of UN sustainable

development goals and makes it clear that “We have a

common responsibility to provide for the needs of those

alive today, without destroying the ability of future

generations to provide for theirs.”

The City Government’s platform and the social chapter of

the municipal plan make it evident that innovation and

entrepreneurship are fundamental guiding principles when

working on business development. The municipality shall

“facilitate business start-ups and innovation and devise

schemes that will encourage the prioritisation of such

initiatives.” In the social chapter of the municipal plan, the

municipality has set the goal of becoming a national

leader in sustainable innovation, entrepreneurship and

business development by 2025. The municipality will also

exploit its purchasing power, by setting climate and

environmental requirements during tender rounds and

prioritising innovation.

1.1. SUSTAINABILILITY PRINCIPLES

The City Government’s platform includes a goal for

Bergen to become the greenest city in Norway and be a

driving force for renewable energy and green, sustainable

business. The municipality’s goals of reducing climate gas

emissions by 50% by 2030, and working towards a zero-

emissions society, requires a collective effort by the

public authorities, business and the residents (social

chapter of the municipal plan, Bergen 2030, p. 17). Green

Strategy (adopted by the City Council on 21 September

2016) lays down important guiding principles for Bergen

Municipality’s work on business development and

expertise in order to attain the sustainability and emission

reduction goals.

“Sustainability” is a key word in the City Government’s political

platform, the social chapter of the municipal plan and Green

Strategy.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Extracted from the City

Government’s platform pp. 2 and 18.

Bergen [shall] be a pioneering municipality for climate

and the environment, with the objective of becoming

Norway’s greenest city. The City Government’s

overarching goal is for Bergen to be a driving force for

renewable energy and green, sustainable business.

Business is an important player in securing sustainable

management and exploitation of the community’s

resources. Bergen Municipality will conduct an active and

distinctive business policy in order to create more jobs in

the city that contribute to attaining UN sustainable

development goals. This includes an obligation to work

actively at creating future-oriented jobs that are socially,

economically and environmentally sustainable.3

Fig.1 UN sustainable development goals4

The sustainable development goals clean energy for all

(7), innovation and infrastructure (9), conservation and

exploitation of the oceans and marine resources in a way

that promotes sustainable development (14) and

partnership to achieve the goals (17) are especially

relevant. Bergen Municipality is actively seeking

opportunities within the concept of “smart cities”. Smart

cities is about the intelligent application of technology in

urban development, in order to create a better city for the

residents and more effective public services. Goal 11 -

sustainable cities and communities - is prioritised through

Bergen’s membership of UNESCO’s Creative Cities

Network.

In order for Bergen Municipality to be a driving force for

renewable energy and green business, grant funding must

reflect this priority and the City Government must work to

find good projects that contribute to this goal. The

business development work must be based on Bergen’s

comparative advantages and contribute to attaining the

sustainable development goals.

1 The UN World Commission on Environment and Development defines “sustainable development” as: Development that meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1987). Our common future, http://www.fn.no/Tema/Baerekraftig-utvikling/Hva-er-

baerekraftig-utvikling.

4 For more information about the individual sustainable development goals, see: http://www.fn.no/Tema/FNs-baerekraftsmaal.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

1.2. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES

In its political platform for the period 2015-2019, the City

Government says that it wants to conduct a more active

business development policy and wishes to review the

range of instruments/measures that the municipality has at

its disposal.

The primary responsibility for laying the groundwork for

business development in Bergen Municipality lies with

the Section for Business Development (Hereafter

“Business Section”). It is part of BKKN - the City

Government Department for Climate, Culture and

Business Development). A review of the organisation of

the municipality’s business development policy was

carried out in 2016. As a first step towards a more active

business development policy, the City Council decided on

15 June 2016 to stop purchasing services from Business

Region Bergen (BRB) with effect from January 2017

(Changed organisation for business development 158/16 -

15 June 2016 Bergen City Council). This freed up NOK

7.7 million for increased investment in business

development under the municipality’s own auspices.

The closure of BRB led to Hordaland County

Municipality taking over the business start-up support

organisation ‘Etablerersenteret’. This enabled offers of

courses and consultancy appointments to continue as a

county-wide service. The local municipalities pay an

annual charge of NOK 3.00 per inhabitant for services

provided to the community by Etablerersenteret. For

Bergen, this amounts to around NOK 0.8 million in 2017.

Hordaland County Municipality is responsible for

coordinating the rollover of SNP and will address this in

the context of a regional business plan

The service “Invest in Bergen” is also continuing as a

county project and the municipalities pay NOK 4.00 per

inhabitant. For Bergen, the cost in 2017 is NOK 1.1

million.

1.3. ORGANISATION OF THE WORK

Most of the freed-up business development funds will be

used for business development in the form of grant

funding for innovation and entrepreneurship, cluster work

and projects. Two new staff members were also added to

the Business Section from February 2017.

The Business Section (4 full time equivalents) deals with

incoming applications, business development cases and

consultations etc. Enhanced staffing enables the section to

improve its external promotion of Bergen Municipality’s

activities, secure better internal and external collaboration,

identify market needs more easily and to initiate and

follow up projects actively. Monitoring of the main

business sectors is divided between staff members, to

ensure that their sector knowledge is thorough and up-to-

date and that projects are closely followed up.

Most of Bergen Municipality’s business development

work is in close cooperation with network organisations

and involves supporting, on application, projects and

cluster measures in the various business sectors. To ensure

good prioritisation of resources when assessing the

measures to be funded, reference is made to the Strategic

business development plan, its associated measures plan

and this Action Plan for Business Development in Bergen.

In 2017 the Business Section managed around NOK 16

million, of which 7.6 million was attributed to the city

budget. The remaining funds were divided between two

grant schemes:

General searchable grants3

3.8 million

Grants for unemployment prevention measures

4.5 million

In addition, the partnership agreements with GCE Subsea

and NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster are defined as

procurement of services. These comprised NOK 530,000

in 2017.

The Internet-based search portal that was introduced from

the turn of the year has contributed to further

improvement and automation of internal control and

administrative procedures. The application process is

easier for the applicant and all public advertisements are

on Bergen Municipality’s website.

3 For more information about the grant schemes, requirements and conditions, see .www.tilskudd.bergen.kommune.no

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

The internal changes and reinforcement of the business development work, taken together, have improved Bergen

Municipality’s ability to:

■ Maintain closer contact with business clusters and network organisations

■ Give active support to business development

■ Collaborate with other municipalities, Hordaland County Municipality and other external partners

■ Be more visible in its business development work

■ Participate more actively on digital media and through the municipal website

■ Monitor what is happening at central government level; assessments, reports, consultations, legislative changes etc.

■ Ensure a better overview of, and coordination with, the instrumental agencies and other national and regional grant schemes

■ Have an up-to-date overview of commercial space

■ Play a greater role in developing projects, coordinated with existing initiatives

■ Identify and evaluate opportunities for participation in international cooperation

■ Tighten collaboration with the R&D organisations

■ Make arrangements for student work experience placements

■ Contribute to the advisory panel for the start-up fund4

■ Act as a link between entrepreneurs and the municipality to secure innovative procurement.

4 The County Executive Board in Hordaland County Municipality resolved to reserve NOK 2,624,000 for a regional start-up fund in the Bergen Region for 2017. This

includes the municipalities in Hordaland, apart from Sunnhordland and Hardanger. The fund will be administered by the Chamber of Commerce in Nordhordland,

where the Business Section is a member of the advisory panel. Entrepreneurs in these municipalities who want to start their own businesses can apply for up to NOK

50,000. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis. For more information, see:

https://www.region.alforvaltning.no/Startside/Velkommen.aspx?Ordning_Id=1189&Cookie=0

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Photo: BTO/Camilla Waage, C Foto 1.4. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION

Business development involves a number of different

disciplines and administrative areas, so there is a need for

internal and external collaboration to ensure that business

development is well coordinated and targeted.

Since 2017 the Business Section has been co-located with

the Climate Section and the Agency for Agriculture in

Lars Hilles gate 19. This facilitates staying up to date with

one another’s work, contributes to the transfer and sharing

of expertise and enhances participation in relevant shared

projects. The Business Section also cooperates with the

Section for Art and Cultural Affairs in BKKN and

contributes to attracting and staging city-wide events.

Other city government departments may also take

initiatives that affect business conditions. The Business

Section’s internal interfaces include:

■ Head of the City Government's Department - top

level plans, the Bergen Alliance, regional,

national and international cooperation, visiting

delegations etc.

■ City Dept. of Urban Development - planning

work (land use) and the Mobility office. Use of

urban space and city centre activity, the Fish

Market.

■ City Dept. of Finance, Innovation and Property Management

- exercise of ownership, questions relating to individual

buildings and companies and work on innovation and

digitalisation.

■ City Dept. of Social Services, Housing and

Inclusion - area prioritisation and integration

through entrepreneurship.

■ City Dept. of Health and Care -

collaboration on health clusters, welfare

technology and innovation processes.

■ City Dept. of Education and Sports - especially

major sporting events and work on food in

schools and nursery schools (UNESCO

cooperation).

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

2. GOALS FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WORK 2017/2018

The overarching strategic guidelines for the business

development work in Bergen Municipality are laid down

in SNP. The goal in SNP is that “by 2025 the Bergen

Region shall be a national leader in innovation,

entrepreneurship and sustainable business development.”

This goal is also entrenched in the social chapter of the

municipal plan and in the City Government’s political

platform.

Finding good performance targets for evaluating business

development measures is a demanding task. The results

tend to come several years after the end of the project, the

effects of inputs are often influenced by external factors

such as the economic cycle, the oil price etc. and it can be

difficult to prove direct cause and effect relationships.

Nevertheless, research into innovation and local, national

and international innovation policies clearly show that

good framework conditions, expertise development,

innovation and active and complete industry clusters are

important factors in securing an effective and competitive

business environment.

The action plan for 2017 and 2018 follows the goals

established in SNP and in the budget for 2017, with any

budgetary adjustments that may come in 2018. It is

desirable to keep the performance targets and indicators

as constant as possible during the plan period, in order to

obtain consistent and comparable time series that enable

the results and effects of the commitments made in the

business development plan and action plan to be assessed.

As set out in the Action plan 2015-2016 and the budget

for 2017, the overall aim is for Bergen Municipality to

contribute to additional sustainable jobs.5 SNP defined six

main priority areas for the period 2015-2020. The priority

areas must first and foremost correspond with business

expectations and requirements vis-a-vis the public

authorities. The municipality will work on the following

strategies to attain the main regional goals:

■ The framework conditions for business

■ Physical and social infrastructure

■ Efficient public services

■ Regional reputation-building

■ Research and development

■ Innovation and entrepreneurship

1. ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL SPACE

In the future, as now, business development in the

municipality will be dependent on sufficient commercial

space. Increased commercial space is therefore a goal.

The most important way of influencing this is through

continued inputs to the land use part of the municipal

plan.

2. ATTRACTIVENESS FOR NEW START-UPS

The number of start-ups is also an indicator of Bergen’s

attractiveness for entrepreneurs. In 2016, 3,607 new

businesses were started. This was an increase of more

than 5 %, from 3,429 in 2015 and shows that Bergen is an

attractive municipality in which to establish a business.

The Business Section will develop measurement

parameters to show the amount of public funding

triggered by entrepreneurs in Bergen, and illustrate

Bergen’s attractiveness for new businesses. Other

indicators, e.g. measuring the longevity of new start-ups

in Bergen, will also be considered.

3. HIGH SCORE IN NHO SURVEY6

The periodic comparative survey of municipalities by the

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) gives a

clear indication of Bergen’s standing nationally. In the

2016 survey Bergen was ranked as region no. 4 (out of a

total of 77 regions). The goal is for Bergen to be among

the best five regions, every year.

Fig. 2. Goals and indicators - business development in Bergen Municipality

5 In line with the Action and Finance Plan 2017-2020/budget 2017, see p. 247.

6 For more information about the indicators in NHO’s periodic survey of municipalities (NM), see https://www.nho.no/Politikk-og-analyse/Offentlig-sektor-og-naringslivet/kommunenm/.

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Measure Indicator/measuring method

Increased

access to

commercial

space

Land and space use and resources

-Statistics Norway (SSB).

Measured by no. of km2

Bergen shall be an

attractive place to

start a business

No. of start-ups. Measured by

no. of new start-ups in the

Municipality

Bergen shall be

one of Norway’s

best business

regions

NHO’s periodic survey (business

conditions, job market,

demographics, expertise and

municipal finances) Measured by

being in the top 5.

ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

3. CHANGING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

RESTRUCTURING

In 2016 government income from the petroleum sector fell

by 40 % and it comprised 13 % of national income,

compared with 20 % in 2015.7 This reduction, plus

increased unemployment and a powerful global climate

agreement, highlighted the need for the Norwegian

economy to be restructured. In the Bergen Region, just

under 30,000 people earn their livelihood in the oil and

gas industries. In 2016, Norway exported oil and gas

worth around NOK 350 billion, making up 37 % of all

Norwegian exports.8

A low oil price and changes in demand during the last two

years have led to many lay-offs and redundancies in the

industry. Investment in the oil and gas industry, including

pipeline transport, comprised NOK 163.3 billion in 2016

This was NOK 37.9 billion, or 18.8 percent, less than in

2015.9 The activity was expected to be low throughout

2017 and the trend toward 2020 is unclear. The market is

expected to be 10 % smaller in 2019, compared with the

peak year of 2013.10

The challenge will be to secure jobs and future expertise,

combined with increased investment in renewable energy

and sustainable business development. This requires both

the ability to restructure, and successful efforts by

business and the public authorities to utilise the expertise

released by the oil and gas industries. It is important to

ensure that expertise does not disappear out of the region

and that we succeed in exploiting it. This will involve

transferring skilled resources to other industries.

Oil and gas income does not include the supplier industry

that serves the petroleum sector. A full overview of the

government’s income from the petroleum sector is

available on:

http://www.norskpetroleum.no/okonomi/statens-inntekter/

(10.04.2017).

GROWTH INDUSTRIES

Even though the oil and gas sectors and related industries

face stiff challenges, other sectors are growing in our

region. Marine industries, in particular, have increased

their income in recent years, while tourism and parts of

the media industry have also grown.

7 Oil and gas income does not include the supplier industry that serves the petroleum sector. A full overview of the government’s income from the petroleum sector is available on: http://www.norskpetroleum.no/okonomi/statens-inntekter/(10.04.2017).

8 Ibid. 9 There was a negative trend in all investment areas, but the operations, prospecting and field development activities contributed most to the fall

in 2016. The year-on-year investment increased by a full 70 percent from 2010 to 2014. It then fell by over 27 percent between 2014 and 2016, measured at current value. Projections for 2017 predicted a further fall of 13 percent. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, on: http://www.npd.no/Nyheter/Nyheter/2016/ Sokkelaret-2016/1/.

10 Maritime industry in the 21st century – Prognoses, trends and driving forces (2016), accessible on http://www.maritim21.no/prognett-Maritim21/Forside/1254006265186.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

OCEAN CITY BERGEN

Growth in the marine industries is

expected to continue, seen in both

a national and global perspective.

The Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development

(OECD) shows in its report

“The Ocean Economy in 2030” that economic activity in

the sea is growing strongly and suggests that the ocean

economy will produce 40 million jobs and double its

contribution to global value creation by 2030.11

Development of ocean industries must take place within a

sustainable framework, in order to meet UN sustainable

development goals.

Ocean City Bergen has the country’s richest, most diverse

and concentrated business environment related to the sea

and the coast. There is a long list of success stories in

shipping, offshore, fisheries and fish farming. Increasingly

frequently, these are referred to as the “blue industries”.

Associated with these industries in the Bergen Region are

several strong R&D communities and centres of financial,

insurance and legal expertise. Cross-disciplinary

collaboration, innovation and technological development

can provide significant opportunities for growth in today’s

ocean industries, but can also create new marine

businesses. The business and research communities in the

marine sector in Bergen already have sound structures for

working across industry boundaries. Among other

initiatives, they have set up a joint project to profile

Bergen as the “Ocean City”.12

TOURISM IN BERGEN

In Norway as a whole, tourism has shown strong growth

in recent years, while Bergen experienced an increase of

1.1 % in the number of overnight stays from 2015 to

2016. The relatively low growth is due to a reduction in

the number of job-related stays (-2.16 %). By contrast,

conferences and courses grew by 21.2 % and

holiday/leisure stays increased slightly by 0.3 %. As

Northern Europe’s largest cruise port, Bergen received

298 ship visits and 490,546 passengers in 2016. This was

an increase from 428,287 in 2015.

An investment framework of more than NOK 12 billion

has been calculated for the tourist industry in the Bergen

Region during the period 2014-2019.

The investments have been divided between the upgrading

of Flesland Airport, new scheduled air routes, new cruise

ferries and many new hotels with a 60 % increase in the

number of rooms. Increased growth is expected in tourism

in the coming years.

INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

The world will need more energy in the years ahead. Since

we know that this energy is going to have to come to a

much greater extent from renewable sources, investment

in alternative forms of energy is required. The climate

challenge makes the need to convert to clean energy into a

reality.

Renewable power production capacity has grown

significantly in recent years. The largest part of the

increase comes from wind and solar power, but when total

capacity is analysed, hydro power continues to dominate.

Globally, USD 332 billion was invested in renewable

energy in 2015.

Bergen stands out clearly on the map of renewable energy

production and was the municipality that had the largest

turnover in electrical energy production and distribution in

Western Norway in 2014.13

At nearly NOK 7.5 billion,

Bergen accounted for 14 % of total turnover and 16 % of

the total number of employees in electrical energy

production and distribution in Western Norway (HFK

analysis report no. AUD 7-16 The Energy Cluster in

Western Norway).

Table 1. The largest electrical energy producers and distributors

among the municipalities in Western Norway, by turnover and no. of

employees

Municipality Share of total turnover Municipality

% of total employees

Stavanger 64 % Stavanger 45 %

Sandnes 13 % Sola 19 %

Bergen 9 % Bergen 17 %

Sola 6 % Sandnes 10 %

Lindås 2 % Lindås 2 %

Tysvær 2 % Tysvær 1 %

1 %

1 %

Øygarden 1 % Molde 1 %

Aukra 1 % Haugesund 1 %

Haugesund 0 % 16 Øygarden 1 %

Source: Analysis report no. AUS 7-16 “Energiklynga på Vestlandet”

(‘The Western Norway Energy Cluster’) (2016), accessible on

http://www.hordaland.no/globalassets/for-hfk/rapportar-og-statistikk/

aud-rapportar/2016/aud-rapport-nr.-7-16-energiklynga-pa-vestlandet-

1.1.pdf

11 OECD «The Ocean Economy in 2030» (2016), accessible on: http://geoblueplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/OECD-ocean-economy.pdf.

12 An initiative by the research groups and businesses to create Europe’s strongest, integrated cluster for marine education, research and innovation and profile Bergen's

extensive value creation based on marine activity. For more information, see: .http://www.havbyenbergen.no/

13 The most recent numbers were prepared by HFK with Ideas2Evidence in analysis report no. AUD 7-16 “Energiklynga på Vestlandet” (‘The Western Norway Energy

Cluster’) (2016), available on. http://www.hordaland.no/globalassets/for-hfk/rapportar-og-statistikk/aud-rapportar/2016/aud-rapport-nr.-7-16-energiklynga-pa-

vestlandet-1.1.pdf

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Measured in current value, investment in energy supply in

Norway amounted to a record NOK 26.2 billion in 2016,

which was 13.4 % more than the investment made in

2015. Major investments in production, transmission and

distribution of electricity accounted for the growth.

INNOVATION IN BUSINESS

Restructuring presents challenges, but it also provides

opportunities for fresh thinking and innovation. It involves

generating and developing good new ideas and business

models and learning about potential partners, investors

and market opportunities. Innovation, intrapreneurship,

entrepreneurship and technology development are the

keys to building the sustainable industry the region needs

in future.

A global technological shift is in progress, setting new

standards of automation and digitalisation, and new

technology-based businesses are springing up. A focus on

innovation is particularly important at present. It is needed

in order to capture good ideas, help entrepreneurs to create

viable companies and stimulate more innovation in

established businesses. Business and public authorities

must be able to see opportunities for cross-overs between

industries and for transferring expertise, if we are to be

able to exploit the advantages of the transition to a zero-

emissions society.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FROM CLUSTERS

Businesses can see opportunities for widened cooperation

by co-locating and establishing networks, thus enhancing

their market potential and sharpening their competitive

edge.

Business in Bergen has been quick to see the

opportunities. This may well be explained by the Bergen

Region having the country’s densest concentration of

cluster programmes financed by Innovation Norway.14

The clusters have the overarching goal of stimulating

increased value creation, which businesses would not have

achieved on their own. The cluster programme aspires to

contribute to Norway boosting and developing its role as a

competitive global business player. Innovative capability

depends on the clusters, and their constituent businesses,

exploiting the potential for knowledge-sharing and

innovation, both internally and between clusters. The

framework for this collaboration is the “triple helix”

where business, R&D and the public authorities jointly

contribute to cluster development.

WE ARE PART OF A GLOBAL ECONOMY

Norwegian business cannot compete globally in all areas.

It must focus on areas where the nation has a competitive

advantage and innovative capability. As well as the oil

and gas, marine, maritime and tourist industries, Bergen

has a leading media and culture-based sector with a

forward-looking media cluster and cultural businesses in

film, design and music.

Internationalisation also involves attracting companies,

capital and skilled labour from abroad. This will require

targeted efforts to raise Bergen’s visibility and profile.

Bergen Municipality works with “Invest in Bergen” to

improve Bergen’s international visibility. A new

international strategy is also being developed for Bergen

Municipality and the Business Section will play an active

part in the work.

Photo: BTO/Camilla Waage, C Foto

14 For more information about Innovation Norway’s cluster programme, see: http://www.innovasjonnorge.no/no/Bygg-en-bedrift/klynger-og-bedriftsutvikling-

2/klynger-og-bedriftsnettverk.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Photo: BTO/Camilla Waage, C Foto

4. MAIN PRIORITY AREAS AND MEASURES PLAN

To achieve the overall goals for business development

work in 2017 and 2018, the Business Section will be a

motivator for any necessary restructuring of business.

Investment areas will include innovation and cluster

development and the section will work with the clusters,

network organisations, research groups, the public

instrumental agencies and the business community in

Bergen to stimulate growth in sustainable businesses. The

Business Section will be proactive in making the need for

innovative procurement more visible and will contribute

to Bergen becoming, to a greater extent, a test bed for new

products and services. In the coming years,

internationalisation of business will be important and the

Business Section will be a driving force in achieving this

in the Bergen Region.

The main priority areas and the measures in the plan are

not exhaustive. During the period of the Action Plan new

projects and measures will be developed, where the

municipality will want to participate. Much of the ongoing

development work on national and international business

projects involves identifying and supporting good

proposals and evaluating municipal participation.

The measures plan highlights the challenges and

opportunities in the business sector that comprise the

Business Section’s main priority areas for 2017 and 2018.

The plan also specifies more general measures. The

expected effects of the measures are included in the

descriptions of the main priority areas in the following

paragraphs. Further work will be carried out on refining

and specifying the effectiveness parameters.

THE LABOUR MARKET

Nationally, unemployment stood at 2.8 percent at the end

of April 2017, compared with 3.1 percent for the same

period in 2016. Of 9,152 unemployed in Hordaland at the

end of April 2017, 5,059 were attributed to Bergen. This

was a reduction of 116 persons compared with April 2016

and comprised 3.3 percent of the workforce. The

occupations with highest unemployment were engineers,

ICT staff and building, construction and industrial

workers. Engineers and ICT staff have suffered a large

increase in unemployment in recent years, because of oil-

price related redundancies, but this trend may be turning

around.

The number of job seekers went down from March to

April and the flow of new job applicants is lower that it

has been for some time. The Norwegian Labour and

Welfare Administration (NAV) reports fewer notifications

of lay-offs and downsizing. Nevertheless, the number of

long-term unemployed is increasing and the employment

rate continues to fall. This reinforces the need for an

active business policy. The Business Section will work

long-term to increase employment in the Bergen Region.

Recent years have shown that a need for short-term

measures can also arise. The business development work

needs to be organised to meet the overall goals, while

ensuring the municipality is in a position to intervene if

unemployment increases.

Expected effects: contribute to reducing unemployment;

network-building; quick return to work for the

unemployed; encouraging social contact and matching

potential employers with available resources, while

contributing to UN sustainable development goal no. 8.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Measure Description Responsibility

“The opportunities bank”

Start-up of meeting place for unemployed 8 May 2017. Partnership

project - NAV, Bergen Chamber of Commerce, Norwegian TU

Confederation (LO) and United Federation of Trade Unions, NHO,

Tekna, HFK and Bergen Municipality. Events arranged every

Monday, for the rest of the year.

Business Section

“New opportunities” Collaboration with Bergen Chamber of Commerce. The project

facilitates unemployed attending meetings and conferences

arranged by Bergen Chamber of Commerce, so that they can

participate actively in working life and meet potential employers.

Bergen Chamber of Commerce

“Growth in your SME”

The project involves preparing small and medium sized enterprises

(SMEs) to grow and employ extra staff.

Connect Vest

Food and tourist

destination development

Support for several projects, some associated with Food City

(‘Matbyen’) Bergen (see paragraph on agriculture and local food), as

well as support for further development of destination Bergen South,

which will be able to produce many more jobs for the Bergen Region.

Bergen Tourist Board

Sub-projects

Support several sub-projects related to unemployment measures

for 2016. The Business Section monitors the projects continuously.

1. Develop tools for green/sustainable business development.

2. Collaborate with NAV for recruitment of unemployed persons for

start-up businesses in the Innovation Incubator

(‘Nyskapningsparken’)/the shared office T41/Ocean Industries

Accelerator/Greenhouse Innovation Incubator.

3. Lay the groundwork for various start-up packages for people who

want to use their down time in knowledge-based start-up businesses

located in Marineholmen/the Innovation Park with the aim of generating

spin-offs and establishing new businesses.

4. Create a scheme for linking newly qualified students to

start-up businesses or innovation projects in existing firms.

Technology transfer company BTO/

Innovation Incubator

Unemployment measures

The Business Section will seek to employ at least one work experience

student per term in the section. Experience shows that the benefit is

mutual. Both the University of Bergen (UiB) and the Western Norway

University of Applied Sciences (HVL) are partner institutions.

Business Section

INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The community, and business, are influenced by

technological developments and market trends in

digitalisation, the sharing economy, automation, robotics

and disruptive innovation. New business models are

constantly being developed and many choose to establish

their own businesses.

The ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship is a

team play between entrepreneurs, public authorities, R&D

groups, capital providers and the various business sectors.

In Bergen, we have strong players

in all of them. An important priority in the coming years

is to make Bergen Municipality more visible and active in

this ecosystem, by supporting innovation in established

businesses and encouraging new companies and business

models.

Expected effects: increased innovation and

entrepreneurship; new job creation; contribution to

sustainable development; making Bergen attractive for

start-ups and contributing to UN sustainable development

goal no. 9.

16

Measure Description Responsibility

“Ocean Industries

Accelerator”

Supported in the city budget, plus possible project support under

“general foodstuffs”. In collaboration with the GCE Subsea, NCE

Seafood and NCE Maritim Cleantech clusters the Innovation Incubator

has established Ocean Industries Accelerator (OIA), which started up in

March 2017.

Innovation Incubator

Increased

innovation and

entrepreneurship

Supported in the city budget in addition to any project support under

“general foodstuffs”. The Business Section also takes part in

Springbrett (‘Springboard’) under Connect Vest auspices.

Connect Vest

Increased innovation

and entrepreneurship

with special emphasis

on sustainability

Supported in the city budget, plus any project support under “general

foodstuffs”. An example is a project for food entrepreneurs who,

through support from Bergen Municipality, gain access to a

“test kitchen”.

Impact Hub

Entrepreneurship in schools

Supported by Bergen Municipality (through the Dept. of Education and

Sports - BBSI) The Business Section participates actively as judges

during the annual county fair for youth enterprises and is represented

on the board. Young Entrepreneurship wants to become more closely

involved in the entrepreneurship work from starting at school to

becoming a student and wants to work more closely here with BBSI and

the Business Section.

Young

Entrepreneurship

Hordaland

“Innovation in Bergen”

Common celebration of Bergen’s innovative capability. The Business

Section participates with one representative in the working group for the

2017 event.

BTO

INNOVATIVE PROCUREMENT

Business is an important partner in the effort to achieve a

more innovative public sector and the public sector can be

an important driver for innovation in business. Innovative

procurement can contribute positively to a sustainable

local business sector and to the municipality achieving its

goals.

A new public procurement act and several of the

associated regulations contain provisions requiring social

considerations to be taken into account during public

procurement. Of particular relevance is the new statutory

requirement for public sector employers to adjust their

procurement practice so that it contributes to reducing

harmful environmental effects and promotes climate-

friendly solutions in a life-cycle perspective.

Innovative procurement can be used as a strategic tool for

regional development and can contribute to stimulating

business in the region. When working on a new

procurement strategy the assumption is that Bergen

Municipality is to be a pioneer in exploiting the

opportunity to make public procurement an innovative

process. The authority will not define what it wants in

advance, but will start by specifying a need that has to be

met. Environmental requirements and criteria in the

municipality’s procurement policy will contribute to

reducing environmental impact. Procurement must also

stimulate innovation and contribute to socio-economic

gains. The establishment of an

innovation reception where entrepreneurs can easily

contact the municipality, will make it easier for innovators

to present new solutions.

Expected effects: highlight the opportunities offered by

public procurement to entrepreneurs and innovative

businesses; contribute to the municipality supplying more

innovative products and services to the residents;

contribute to innovation in the municipality while also

contributing to UN sustainable development goals nos. 9,

11, 12 and 13.

ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Measure Description Responsibility

Innovation Centre The Business Section wishes to have a physical presence in the

innovation groups, e.g. by having office space in the incubators one

day per week, in order to establish a closer dialogue between the

innovators and the municipality. Here, collaboration across City

Government departments is especially important. It will be particularly

important to work collaboratively with the Innovation Centre, under the

auspices of the Section for Digitalisation and Innovation - corporate

level

Business Section

in collaboration

with other City

Government

departments

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy is set to replace more and more fossil

energy in future. Widespread access to hydroelectric

power, from renewable resources, is a competitive

advantage for Norway. Western Norway is a leader in this

field and work is under way to strengthen its position as

the country’s renewable energy region, centred on Bergen.

With its world-leading research

community and several decades’ offshore experience,

Bergen is uniquely placed to become exactly that.

Expected effects: make Bergen visible as a renewable

region; make Bergen into an engine of renewable energy;

highlight clean technology nationally and internationally

and contribute to achieving UN sustainable development

goal no. 7.

Measure Description Responsibility

“Green Cluster” The business community wishes to establish a new renewable cluster

and co-locate all renewable players in the region as a basis for further

collaboration. The Business Section will be an active driving force for

this, working with the Climate Section, Greenstat AS, HFK, Bergen

Chamber of Commerce, UiB, HVL and others.

Greenstat

“Renewable Energy

Display Centre”

Bergen Municipality will participate actively in establishing a

“Renewable Energy Display Centre” in Bergen. The Business Section

will be an active driving force, in close cooperation with other business

players and R&D groups in the region. The concept and location will

be developed by participants who are also members of the renewable

cluster.

Greenstat

“Science City Bergen” Continue the work on the energy education, research, innovation and

business cluster concept “Science City Bergen”, jointly with other relevant

players in the region. Partners in the project are Statoil, the Bergen

Peninsula Municipal Power Company (BKK), R&D and the educational

institutions consisting of UiB, Uni Research, Christian Michelsen Research,

Bergen University College and the Norwegian School of Economics and

Business Administration.

Statoil, BKK, R&D

MARINE INDUSTRIES

Fishing, fish farming and marine products in the Bergen

Region turn over NOK 20 billion per year, create value of

NOK 2.8 billion per year, and employ 3,000 people in 895

enterprises.15

Western Norway accounts for 56 % of

marine research and development activity nationally,

compared with 20 percent in Northern Norway, 15 percent

in Eastern Norway and 9 percent in Trøndelag. However,

there are major challenges, especially in respect of the

environment and pollution.

In partnership with the research community and public

administration, these industries have worked to achieve

co-location of ocean-related activity in Bergen.16

Such co-

location can be beneficial in terms of sharing expensive

research infrastructure, laboratories and other sites. Co-

location of the activities should also stimulate further

cross-disciplinary collaboration and strengthening of the

research effort. A final decision on physical co-location is

due to be made in 2017.

15 ”Marine cluster - investment potential in billions” (02.09.2015), accessible on http://www.uib.no/aktuelt/91182/marin-klynge-kan-gi-milliardinvesteringer.

16 “Concept study (KVU) for location of marine R&D activities in Bergen” (03.01.2017), accessible on https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/kvu-for-lokalisering-av-

marine-fou-virksomheter-i-bergen/id2525933/.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Measure Description Responsibility

“Ocean City Bergen”

Realise the concept ”Ocean City Bergen” nationally and internationally by

working on brand building and marketing. Partnership project between

UiB, the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), related clusters and

industries and Bergen Municipality.

UiB,

Business Section

in collaboration

with others

Support for the

development of the seafood

cluster

Bergen must exploit its unique, global position in aquaculture and

seafood. Many of the industry participants are associated with Bergen in

various ways from research, and production and processing, to marketing

and the management of global resources. The Business Section shall

contribute to further development of the seafood cluster in the region.

Business Section

“Ocean Talent Camp”

Annual celebration of Ocean City Bergen. Upper secondary school students

from throughout the county gather in Bergen to learn more about

educational and job opportunities in these industries. The aim is to establish

a fixed, annually recurring young people’s conference to underpin the

investment in ocean industries and Ocean City Bergen. Bergen Municipality

contributes to this investment, with grants.

Maritime Bergen,

NCE Seafood, NCE

Maritim CleanTech,

GCE Subsea

Expected effects: increase Bergen’s visibility as an ocean

city; stimulate growth in the seafood industry; increase

mobilisation of ocean industries and contribute to

achieving UN sustainable development goal no. 14.

MARITIME INDUSTRIES

The fall in the oil price and the subsequent drop in

activity levels in the oil industry has had a major effect on

activity in the maritime industries. Norwegian shipping

companies laid off twice the expected number of people

in 2016. Among the Norwegian Shipowners'

Association’s members, 15,600 employees were laid off

or made redundant in the last two years. In the

Association’s economic situation report for 2017,

continuation of the challenging market was forecast for

the year.17

New technologies and increased focus on greener

solutions present challenges and opportunities. It will be

important for the maritime industry to collaborate with the

other ocean-based industries, such as marine/seafood and

oil and gas, to build competitive expertise and technology

for the future.

Expected effects: increase Bergen’s visibility as a region

that invests in sustainable maritime solutions; contribute

to more students choosing an education in one of the

region’s most important industries; contribute to

international maritime collaboration and contribute to

achieving UN sustainable development goals nos. 9, 14

and 17.

Measure Description Responsibility

Urban Water Shuttle Urban Water Shuttle is a future-oriented investment where passenger

transport at sea will take place in electrically propelled vessels. Bergen

Municipality has supported the development project as a result of the

City Government’s supplementary grant for unemployment reduction in

2016. The project is being closely followed up and the goal is to enable

it to become a national and international innovation, contributing to

sustainable development in passenger traffic at sea.

NCE Maritim

CleanTech

“Storm in a water glass”

and “Women in a gale”

“Storm in a water glass” and “Women in a gale” are projects arranged by

Maritime Bergen, with Business Section support and participation.

The aim is to encourage more students to choose a maritime education.

Maritime Bergen

Law of the sea and cooperation

Law of the sea and cooperation project between UiB, Maritime Bergen and

the Chinese University through a Maritime Law Summer School. The

Business Section supports this initiative. The work takes place over two

years and the goal is for it to contribute positively to international

understanding of the law of the sea and to improve business interaction

between Bergen (Norway) and China.

Maritime Bergen,

UiB, the Chinese

University

17 The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association Economic Situation Report 2017, p.9, available on: https://www.rederi.no/aktuelt/2017/konjunkturrapport-2017/.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

OIL AND GAS

Collaboration across the industry sectors will be

important for increased value creation and joint

exploitation of the ocean’s resources, especially in the

light of the restructuring challenges. For oil and gas

industry participants, this is very much about spotting

opportunities in the other ocean-based industries.

Offshore wind power, wave power, tidal power and

ocean-based fish farming all take place in conditions

where the oil and gas sector has the expertise to offer

solutions.

In the coming years, the Business Section will focus

especially on maintaining jobs in the region and will

contribute to restructuring by supporting projects that

encourage expertise transfer and cluster-to-cluster

collaboration.

Expected effects: stimulate synergy by increasing cross-

cluster collaboration; contribute to sustainable

development and restructuring for the region’s oil and gas

industry suppliers and contribute to achieving UN

sustainable development goals nos. 7, 9, 14 and 17.

Measure Description Responsibility

Road map for

supplier firms in

Hordaland

Support the project under the auspices of Sunnhordland Regional Council,

implemented by HOG Energi (Hordaland Oil Gas and Energy). The goal is

to obtain a situation report on the supplier industry (to the oil and gas

sector) and propose measures that can contribute to further development

and restructuring, and maintain employment.

HOG Energi

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

The clusters themselves and Innovation Norway are actively engaged in

Cluster-to-cluster collaboration. The Business Section can also contribute

here with grants for good projects. The goal is to contribute to sustainable

business development and maintain employment in the region.

Business Section

TOURISM

The goal for the tourist industry is to make Bergen Region

the most exciting destination in the Nordic countries for

tourism-based cultural and nature activities. The City

Council has approved Bergen Tourist Board’s cruise

strategy and the municipality has also prepared a

measures plan. It is presumed that Bergen harbour will be

fossil-free by 2030 (as resolved in Green Strategy), that

environmentally differentiated harbour dues will be

introduced and that we can work together to find solutions

that prevent too many tourists being in the city centre on

the same day.

The Business Section will follow this up, in cooperation

with the Climate Section, the Port of Bergen and other

relevant players.

Expected effects: contribute to sustainable development

of tourism including cruise and contribute to UN

sustainable development goals nos. 7, 11, 14 and 15.

Measure Description Responsibility

Follow up

cruise

strategy

Follow up the cruise strategy (Bergen Tourist Board) and measures

adopted by Bergen City Council in Proposition No. 21-17, 25.01.2017.

The goal is to contribute to a more sustainable cruise industry in

collaboration with the Port of Bergen, the Climate Section, Bergen

Tourist Board and other external partners.

Business Section

and Bergen Tourist Board

Public good financing

Investigate the possibility of tourists in the Bergen Region making public

good payments, with special focus on cruise passengers.

Business Section

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

MEDIA AND DESIGN

The Business Section has taken over responsibility for the

business part of the media and design clusters. Other

cultural activity is still covered by the Section for Art and

Cultural Affairs and good cooperation between the

sections is important e.g. in matters related to innovation,

tourism and internationalisation. Many of the member

firms in NCE Media will be co-located in Bergen Media

City, which will open in August 2017 and will be a large

and important driver for media-based business in the area.

There is a high pace of innovation in the cluster and 86 %

of the members of NCE Media say that they launched new

innovations or products in 2016. The number of people

employed in the media firms in the Bergen Region is

growing quickly, despite parts of the industry still

experiencing challenges. The media cluster is working

harder and harder at identifying innovation opportunities

throughout the industry.

The technological expertise of the media cluster will also

be important when establishing Smart City Bergen, where

intelligent application of technology to improve municipal

services to residents will be looked at. Bergen

Municipality and NCE Media have worked closely

together to find the good Smart City

solutions that are being established in 2017 as a municipal

project across the City Government departments. The

design cluster in Bergen has Arena status and is working

actively on skills development, meeting places and

innovation projects. Both the design and media clusters

work to a greater and greater extent across the clusters in

Bergen. The design cluster in Bergen not only works on

design in the traditional sense, but focuses just as much on

design as a methodology, and as a tool in building the

communities and industries of the future. Close attention

is being paid to Design Thinking methodology, which

aims to develop fully integrated, human-oriented and

user-friendly solutions. The design cluster frequently

works across business sectors, but also, to an increasing

extent, with projects aimed at the municipal sector and

other public institutions.

Expected effects: increased collaboration; innovation and

entrepreneurship; higher profile for the media cluster and

design nationally and internationally, and contributing to

UN sustainable development goals nos. 8, 9, 11 and 17.

Measure Description Responsibility

Reinforce innovation and

establishment of Bergen

Media City

Follow-up and collaboration with NCE Media about measures related to

Bergen Media City, especially concerning innovation. Development of

innovation incubator for businesses in the media segment.

Business Section

Smart City Bergen

The Business Section will play an active role in the municipality’s work,

in collaboration with the relevant industry participants, by drawing

together Smart City initiatives in Bergen and looking for new solutions

and projects under this umbrella.

Business Section

in collaboration with others

Design and business

Follow up and work together with the design cluster. DesignArena is a

key partner here, with their focus on Design Thinking as an innovation

methodology for thinking about innovation across industries and

contributing to renewal in the public sector.

Business Section

in collaboration with others

AGRICULTURE AND LOCAL FOOD

In line with the Action Plan for Agriculture 2017-2020,

the Business Section will contribute to developing

industry-oriented measures where appropriate. This

involves ensuring that food is locally-sourced and of good

quality and that rural culture, landscape and identity with

Bergen are provided for.

The Business Section is involved in a large number of

projects. Support recipients include food forum Møteplass

Mat, Matarena AS’s contributions to

cluster development “from soil to supper table”, Impact Hub Bergen’s

“food entrepreneur” initiative, Sustainable Life’s mapping

of the distribution chain for locally produced food and the

Food Festival’s profiling of local raw materials, producers

and restaurants (now also linked to the international

UNESCO network).

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Bergen Municipality joined UNESCO’s Creative Cities

Network in December 2015. Further investment in, and

development of, Food City Bergen as a member of

UNESCO Creative Cities gastronomic section, is being

made in collaboration with the Agency for Agriculture

and in conformity with the membership obligations, which

also means that the Municipality must be actively

committed to meeting the UN sustainable development

goals.

Expected effects: ensuring Bergen fulfils its UNESCO

network obligations; raising Bergen’s international

profile; safeguarding traditional and local food culture and

history; building new food traditions; promoting local

food and UN sustainable development goals nos. 3, 8, 9,

11, 16 and 17.

Measure Description Responsibility

Secretariat for Bergen’s

membership of UNESCO’s

Creative Cities Network

Receiving local and international enquiries. Leading the working group

and management group and coordinating with HFK and the County

Governor. Monitoring reporting to UNESCO and compliance with

membership requirements. Acting as the anchor and coordination

point internally in the Municipality. External and internal information

and communication.

Business Section

Manage the UNESCO

Creative Cities Network

brand.

Manage the brand UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy in

accordance with guidelines and administer the associated profiling

material. Priority given in 2017 to the Tourist Board’s investment in

Food City Bergen, the Food Festival and World Cycling

Championships.

Business Section

International

collaboration and active

contributions to EU

projects

The international work consists of taking part in strategy formulation,

collaborative projects, reporting and the UNESCO network annual

meeting. Contribute to, and follow up, the EU project Tasting Schools.

Contribute to the EU application led by the County Municipality to

improve recruiting to the food and restaurant trades. Work together

with Parma, Østersund, Denia og Gazientep. Other EU projects will

also be considered.

Business Section in

collaboration with

others

Following up local

projects that support

Food City Bergen

Follow up the Tourist Board’s investment in Food City Bergen.

Collaborate with Matarena AS and food forums and plan for

developing the catering industry in Bergen, “From soil and sea to

supper table”. Monitor Impact Hub’s food entrepreneur project on

Bryggen. Monitor Sustainable Life’s project on locally-sourced food

logistics.

Business Section in

collaboration with

others

Collaboration

around the Food

Festival

Contribute to further development as a good market place for local

produce. Now the Food Festival also has an international character.

In 2017, delegations from six UNESCO cities in Europe and Asia are

participating.

Matarena AS

INTERNATIONAL WORK

Bergen aims to be Norway’s best host city, attracting

important regional, national and international events. A

major effort will be made in collaboration with Bergen

Arrangementsselskap AS and Bergen Tourist Board to

ensure that Bergen hosts more international conferences

and conventions. Spin-off analyses show that events such

as the Hansa Days and Tall Ships Races have significant

socio-economic benefits. The Business Section will

contribute actively to this work. In future, Bergen

Municipality will invest further in the International

School of Bergen (ISB).

Working with clusters, network organisations, HFK,

Bergen Chamber of Commerce, Bergen Tourist Board and

others, the Business Section will help to ensure that

international delegations are well received in Bergen. The

goal is for such visits to lead to increased business

development and establish Bergen’s profile as the lively

and attractive city that it is.

Expected effects: raise the visibility of business in the

Bergen Region nationally and internationally; share

knowledge and information with relevant partners and

thereby contribute to attainment of UN sustainable

development goal no. 17.

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

Measure Description Responsibility

Increased

internationalisation of

business

Formulate a programme that contributes to increased

internationalisation of business in the region in collaboration with

relevant organisations and networks.

Business Section

Reception of visiting

delegations

Develop a professional set-up for receiving international and national

business delegations in conjunction with other relevant regional

bodies.

Business Section

and Head of the

City Government's

Department

Participate in delegation

travel

Plan and consider participation in delegation travel in conjunction

with clusters and other relevant players such as Bergen Chamber of

Commerce and Bergen Tourist Board (e.g. OTC Houston, Seafood

Expo Brussels, ONS, NOR Shipping etc.).

Business Section

“The Trampery” “The Trampery” - Bergen companies can work in this London-based

incubator for a couple of months to kick start their international

department. The project is administered by Connect Vest and has

received municipal support until the end of 2017.

Connect Vest

Participation in EUROCITIES.

The Business Section will consider increased participation in

EUROCITIES as a result of increased resources. The network is a

good learning, collaboration and idea-development forum for

business development. International cooperation and

relations will be important for further investments such as in Smart

Cities and other forms of international collaboration.

Business Section

Smart City

Cities are being made smarter and better for their residents to live in,

by advances in technology and the application of user participation

principles. The business cluster NCE Media is one of the groups that

the Business Section is in contact with during Bergen Smart City

planning. The investment now being made in Smart City is happening

in close coordination with all City Government departments and is one

of the areas to be worked on in 2017.

NCE Media,

Innovation Norway,

Business Section

in collaboration with others

Participation in

international

projects

Horizon 2020 and Regional R&D collaboration. Increased resources

make it possible to participate actively in this type of project.

Business Section

R&D Forum, H2020

mobilisation group

The Business Section is positive about being a partner in R&D

projects and will contribute actively by looking for regional, national

and European financing schemes and partnership projects.

Business Section

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ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN BERGEN 2017/2018

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