ScanBalt has developed out of ongoing activities in the individual biovalleys in the ScanBalt Bioregion. Read also our background paper for further information.

Short story
The EU - funded "1st Baltic BioTech Forum", taking place 8/9 November 2001 in Mecklenburg-vorpommeren, Germany, had a round table discussion with representatives from different parties in the regions. The discussion gave the necessary momentum to develop the idea of ScanBalt. At a workshop 31 January 2002 in Copenhagen, representatives from the regions agreed to form the joint ScanBalt initiative and established a steering committee.

In a second workshop 6 May 2002 the steering committee outlined the vision and mission of ScanBalt and discussed the results of the first workgroups on mapping & network, education & research, and innovation & recruitment. In addition a pilot-project funded by Nordic Industrial Fund (now Nordic Innovation Center) began to establish ScanBalt as a communication platform. From 1 January 2003 the secretariat was established with 3 years funding from Nordic Innovation Center.

Our Region
ScanBalt BioRegion encompasses 11 countries and 85 million people. There are 60 universities and 870 biotech-related companies. Geography, history and communication are important elements in shaping ScanBalt BioRegion. All the nations in the region have been part of different state structures. Thus, ScanBalt BioRegion encompasses countries with closely interlinked history. In the late Middle Ages commerce on the Baltic was dominated by the Hanseatic League with Gdansk, Riga, Kiel, Bergen, Lübeck, Hamburg, Rostock, and Stockholm as the main towns.

Skagerak, Kattegat, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Gulf of Finland have been and continue to be important for transportation. Ferry lines connect Sweden and Norway with Denmark, Germany, Poland, the Baltic States and Finland. The Øresund Bridge and the Great Belt Bridge are important connections to continental Europe. Flight connections between major cities in each country are well-developed. In short, common history, geographic proximity and excellent transportation facilities are important pillars supporting ScanBalt. It is the goal to continuously build upon these pillars. Although all 11 countries have common historical traits, their cultures and political traditions are different.

This diversity within a family of related countries is an important resource of synergy. With visionary and dynamic management of existing cultural, economic, social and legislative differences, ScanBalt can support sustainable growth and better understanding between the countries.