| Summary: | The aim of this paper is to look into a particular public innovation support programme called the New Technology Programme for Northern Norway (the NT Programme). We are interested in exploring the aims, instruments and working methods of this programme, by using one of the most important industries in the region of Northern Norway as a case; namely the fish processing industry. The paper describes the aims and the working methods of the programme, and discusses the ‘success-criteria’ for the programme in relation to the fish processing industry in Northern Norway.The fish processing industry is often characterised as ‘low-tech’, mature and with little innovation activity. For the industry to be competitive on the world market, it is a strong need for it to update production processes and to develop new products; the industry needs to be innovative and there seems to be a need for governance in the regional innovation system of this industry. For a public innovation support programme to be successful it is necessary to be able to reflect the needs of an industry in relation to innovation. To be able to answer if the NT Programme is suited as a policy tool for the fish processing industry, we will firstly analyse the extent of innovation activity, thereafter analyse how innovation takes place in this industry.
|
|---|