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A lot of research – less business: How can we get more industry value out of research funding?
Published: 26 August 2026
Text: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
Photo: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
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Norway spends more public money on research per capita than almost any other country in the world. The research is of high quality, yet we still rank only 20th on the Global Innovation Index. That was the starting point when a panel gathered during Arendalsuka 2026 to discuss how more of the research effort can be turned into Norwegian industry.
During the debate, the panel — consisting of Anne Kjersti Fahlevik (Research Council of Norway), Kjetil Taskén (University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital), Thomas Hoholm (BI Norwegian Business School), Katrine Myhre (Norwegian Industrial Property Office) and Maria Vistnes (Klyv Therapeutics) — touched on a number of concrete proposals for how Norway can extract more industry value from its research billions.
1. Measure universities on industry development
The institute sector is already measured on industry development – universities are not. "You get what you measure," so industry development and value creation need to be written into universities' and colleges' mandates and funding letters.
3. Make commercialization count in an academic career
Today, spending time on commercialization is almost a career penalty, and publications are nearly the only thing that pays off. Startup experience, including failed attempts, should count positively when returning to academia or applying for promotion.
4. Review IP strategy and ownership models at universities
Researchers themselves need more skin in the game through a larger ownership stake. An IP policy must not be a barrier to commercialization, but must make it attractive to new investors.
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Kathrine Myhre fra Patenstyret snakket om viktigheten av IP-strategi.
5. Access to venture capital is critical for progress
Norwegian companies cannot move forward without access to real risk capital, and both private and state investment must be significantly scaled up. Norwegian venture capital stands at roughly a fifth of the EU level. To close this gap, Norwegian venture capital needs to increase by an estimated NOK 6.5 billion annually, with the state's share amounting to around NOK 2 billion in annual gross investments to reach EU levels.
6. Startups are the bridge between academia and established industry
Large players have neither the time, the incentive, nor the organizational radar to pick up immature research projects straight out of academia.
Projects must first be matured to a point where they are commercially relevant and the risk is low enough for a large company to dare take them forward. That is why instruments such as IPN (Innovation Projects for the Business Sector, a funding scheme from the Research Council of Norway) and verification funding are not just useful, but structurally correct: they finance precisely the bridging function that allows research to move from an academic result to something a large company can actually buy, license, or further develop.
Spin-offs from academia are too immature for IPN and must compete with large, established companies. At the same time, they are too mature for early-stage commercialization support. A dedicated track with lower matching requirements for smaller companies would be a better fit.
7. Connect industry and researchers from day one in new initiatives
Responsibility for commercialization cannot be left to chance or to individual researchers with an "entrepreneurial gene." Given the scale of public investment in research, there must be systemic mechanisms that ensure knowledge is put to use.
This is already happening today in the Research Council's two new priority areas, artificial intelligence and quantum technology, where industry and researchers are meant to work together from the very start — not after the papers are published.
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Debatten var ombord på NAST-båten MS Søgne i Arendal.
A strong ecosystem for health and life sciences
Within, and in the immediate vicinity of, Forskningsparken, the entire health and life sciences ecosystem is represented — from basic research and the institute sector to technology transfer offices, business incubators, clusters, accelerators, and investors. This means that the 300 companies based at Forskningsparken, roughly half of which are startups, have short paths to expertise and collaboration partners.
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