Digital Agenda Funding

Project Status: Live Project

Project Leader: Jose Manuel San Emeterio

EU Programme: Northern Periphery and Arctic (2021 - 2027)

Project Budget: €1,370,649

Start Date: Mar, 2025

Finish Date: Feb, 2028

Project Website: https://www.interreg-npa.eu/projects/mindset/

The aim of the project is to:

To strengthen the innovation capacity of Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) regions by introducing Regional Mission-Oriented Innovation (RegMOI) — a new approach enabling regional and local stakeholders to address major societal challenges such as: - Skills development - Climate change - Regional housing and public real estate This approach adapts and develops methods and tools that were previously applied mainly at national or EU levels, making them actionable for local and regional communities.

Specific objectives are to:

Build regional innovation capacity Equip policymakers, public authorities, and stakeholders in three NPA regions (Ireland, Sweden, Finland) with the capacity and tools to design and implement mission-oriented innovation policies locally.
Develop and test RegMOI approaches Create and pilot regional missions (in skills, climate action, and housing) that apply the RegMOI method in real contexts to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Empower local and regional stakeholders Shift from top-down national innovation strategies to bottom-up regional missions, where local actors play a significant role in shaping and implementing innovation.
Build Transnational cooperation and knowledge exchange Collaborate across borders to co-develop, test, and adapt tools and methods suitable for NPA regions with similar challenges.
Integrate RegMOI into regional and supra-regional agendas Ensure that the RegMOI approach becomes part of long-term policy frameworks and strategies beyond the project’s lifetime.

Donegal, Ireland
ERNACT Network(Lead Partner)
Lead partner in charge of the entire coordination of the project. Responsible for communication coordination.  Partner contributing to the revision and understanding how the mission-oriented innovation can be applied into NPA regions

Jose Manuel San Emeterio
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Donegal, Ireland
Donegal County Council(Partner)
 DCC will be in charge to apply the RegMOI concept in County Donegal (Ireland). In doing so, DCC will actively participate in building their capacity to formulate and implement missions addressing climate change in Donegal.

Lorraine Arbuckle
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Helsinki, Finland
University of Helsinki(Partner)
UH will be a key partner in all WPs, leading WP2 and engaging municipalities in South-Savo, Finland. 

Toni Ryynänen
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Västerbotten, Sweden

Umeå University (Partner)
UMU will contribute to all project WPs and will have the main responsibility for WP1, Introducing RegMOI to regional stakeholders.

Ulf Hedestig

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Västernorrland, Sweden

Ornsköldsvik municipality (Partner)
OM will be a key partner cooperating and contributing in all WPs to achieve the project objectives. In particular, OM will be in charge to apply the RegMOI concept in Örnsköldsvik (Sweden).

Kristina Rastbäck

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Six jointly developed regional missions (two per societal challenge).
Long-term integration of RegMOI into local and regional development plans.
Enhanced capacity of at least 10 organisations to apply RegMOI.
Transnational toolkit and capacity-building resources for other NPA regions.

The ERNACT regions focus on adapting and transferring services, approaches or digital knowhow between regions. Please examine the following table to see a list of specific items transferred over the past few years

MINDSET uses Mission-Oriented Innovation (MOI) to tackle major challenges like climate change, housing, and skills development.

Through Regional MOI (RegMOI), global goals become local actions, using regional resources for real solutions. By uniting governments, businesses, and scientists, MINDSET helps build greener, smarter, and more resilient communities.