Arctic Smartness RDI-Excellence (ASR)

The Arctic Smartness RDI-Excellence (ASR) project sets up and establishes the Lapland regional research, development and innovation Centre of Excellence. Project actors have previously defined Lapland’s key competence areas of RDI-excellence. This project is a direct response to the need for a Regional RDI-Centre of Excellence that combines the Smart Specialisation Arctic Smartness Cluster actors, joint research, development and innovation capacities with growth seeking enterprises and companies and regional development authorities and actors.The project introduces a concrete roadmap that defines operators, cooperation models, roles of research in RDI-activities and a common use of research and development infrastructure.

The ASR project develops the Lapland innovation ecosystem based on research and development activities and support. The core actors and beneficiaries of the project are the Arctic Smartness Clusters, regional RDI-actors, regional developers and authorities.This development initiative is a direct output of activities and the results of previous Arctic Smartness Portfolio (ASP) and Arctic Smartness Excellence (ASE) ERDF projects. These projects were instrumental to the implementation of the Lapland Smart Specialisation Strategy into action.

The project output is a model of innovation ecosystem of Lapland, where the Research and Development (R&D) activities and Innovation management is amalgamated together with the enterprises. This empowers Regional RDI actions across and over traditional organisational boundaries and better supports and meets the needs of industry and commerce. This in turn is a starting point for more active and tangible cooperation between research organisations executing this project and Enterprises & Industry.

The Regional Centre of RDI-Excellence combines the Smart Specialisation cluster actors, the research, the innovation&growth seeking enterprises, and regional development and innovation activities. Its main features are a RDI-based innovation cycle management and an identification of readiness levels of technologies (TRL) including services and Social Entrepreneurship. The Arctic development environments cluster has created a model and a method for TRL-identification and advancement. Systematically advancing the maturation of the development of ideas, products, services and technologies towards the market and supporting the market uptake is the way for RDI-based innovations and innovation management. In addition, need/challenge-based research and identification of commercial value for Research results in key part of Innovation management and a method to increase of market value and potential from research, as well as making new businesses possible. The research is in connection with the enterprises' product development and the multi-level interactivity of innovation ecosystem.

The work is supported by means of networking with other European centres of expertise/excellence and thematic innovation development networks. The research groups and enterprises produce concrete billets of RDI-projects and ideas for further development to make new products and services as the final products within the regional innovation cycle. To this end, the TRL-acceleration service model and its interfaces with targets and stakeholders are set. Ideas and concepts born will be tested with pilots. Concrete results and failures are presented for the businesses and the stakeholders, to be used in the businesses and production processes.This project will also give access to more resources to the development of Lapland and makes future impact possible to forthcoming development programmes and financing opportunities.

Duration: 1.9.2018–31.10.2021


Funding and budget: The total budget of the project is € 655 656. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund / Regional Council of Lapland. Total EU and State funding € 524 525.


Project partners: University of Lapland (coordinator), Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)