Sustainable development and Sustainable Development Goals in Smart Specialisation strategies in the European Arctic regions

The revised EU Arctic Policy highlights smart specialisation as an important approach for innovation policy helping to strengthen the capacity and resilience of the European Arctic societies and economies (European Commission, 2021). With its overarching goals to foster structural transformation, smart specialisation strategies are among important policy tools fostering the achievement of the goals of the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2019a) Smart specialisation oriented towards broader sustainability challenges aligns with the overarching mission of EU Cohesion Policy to improve social inclusion and strikes the chord with the SDGs and the core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “to leave no one behind” (UN, 2015).

Abstract

This report provides a general analysis on how sustainability challenges and Sustainable Development Goals are embedded in ongoing Smart Specialisation processes in the European Arctic at regional and local level. The report provides insights into Arctic smart specialisation strategies and offers illustrative case studies of projects and initiatives relevant to achieving sustainable development in Arctic Finland, Arctic Sweden and Arctic Norway.