ScanBalt BioRegion: Borderless Biotech
A common platform for research, education and innovation  

History
The Scandinavian-Baltic region is experiencing a significant increase in activities within life sciences in general and biotechnology in particular. Several major publicly financed research centres have been set up and the number of new biotech companies has increased markedly supported by a considerable inflow of venture capital.

To continue this development and the region’s fight for high-tech and high-value-creating jobs to ensure growth and prosperity in the future, it is necessary to establish a strong recruitment base of highly educated people as well as coordinated public investments in relevant infrastructures. It is however doubtful whether any single country in the region is able to gain an internationally competitive position on its own within biotechnology and related disciplines.

There are many cultural, historical and political ties between the countries in the Scandinavian-Baltic region. The region therefore constitutes an excellent foundation for establishing close inter-regional cooperation. A joint effort in development and application of biotechnology and related fields is an initiative that may have significant consequences for the region’s social and industrial development in a “Europe of Regions”.

The ScanBalt initiative was first officially endorsed in November 2001 at the Baltic Development Forum meeting in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Following the decision of he Nordic Industrial Fund to fund a pilot project on ScanBalt, a steering committee was established during a founding meeting in January 2002 in Copenhagen.


Concept
The concept is therefore to create a metaregion, ScanBalt BioRegion, within which to develop existing and future clusters, networks, co-operations and co-ordinations between countries with regard to research, education, public services and innovation related to biotechnology.

Representatives from the members of the Baltic Council:
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Northern Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg have joined ScanBalt, a network of networks to promote borderless biotech in the region.

Perspectives & Advantages
The Nordic-Scandinavian-Baltic countries are facing two major opportunities:
· To use biotechnology to increase wealth and health in the century of life sciences.
· To build an economic dynamo of global prominence based on regional cooperation.

ScanBalt is intended to help countries in the region meet these opportunities including the following potential perspectives and advantages:
· Establishment of a new growth and knowledge region in Europe with a strong international profile.
· Implementation of an overall plan to meet shortages of well-qualified labour within biotechnology and related areas, including health services and medical technology.
· Creation of new trans-regional competence clusters and partnerships between public and private institutions.
· Establishment of strong international visibility and attraction of capital and bright people from all over the world.
· Consortia of countries from ScanBalt will be strong applicants for EU funds (including Interreg III) since EU 6th Framework Programme encourages inter-regional cooperation.
· It is expected that mainly large programmes by networks of excellent groups will be funded in FP6. It will therefore be to the advantage of the region if various constellations of partners and collaborations are established.
· Expansion of ScanBalt networks will tie the region’s eastern parts closer to well-established European co-operations, thus adding to the prospects of peace and prosperity.
· ScanBalt may become a pioneer example of a new type of inter-regional cooperation in Europe with potential subsequent perspectives for political and popular developments.


Purpose & Means
By promoting borderless biotech, the purposes and means of ScanBalt should be to:
· Disclose and create more spearhead competencies in the region
· Establish education at the highest international level
· Attract bright people, good ideas, manufacturing companies and venture capital
· Disclose and coordinate existing and future cooperation and financial support possibilities.
· Facilitate exchange of ideas and people.
· Facilitate coordinated and joint investment and utilisation of major infrastructures.
· Build a close network of contacts and cooperation to generate synergies and ensure the best possible exploitation of common resources.
· Increase information on and access to funding possibilities.
· Increase resources available for research, education and innovation
· Facilitate formation of partnerships between academia, industry and public institutions.
· Mediate formation and funding of other intra-regional co-operations.
· Increase and exploit cross-disciplinary innovation potential within biotechnology, information technology, communication technology, medical technology, microelectronics and nanotechnology.
· Promote application of biotechnology for purposes benefiting the general public within health services, drug development, food quality and environmental protection.


Organisation
ScanBalt, a network of networks (www.scanbalt.org), is coordinated by a steering committee the chairman of which is currently Bo Samuelsson, rector Gothenburg University. The secretariat of ScanBalt is currently hosted by Medicon Valley Academy in Copenhagen (www.mva.org).

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