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Innovation Norway

Innovation Norway is a state-owned company and a national development bank.

The company's programs and services are intended to stimulate entrepreneurship in Norway. Its head office is in Oslo, and it has offices in each of the Norwegian counties. It also has offices in 30 countries around the world. The company has over 500 employees worldwide[1] and has supported maritime transportation,[2] biotechnology,[3] thin film,[4] and alternative fuel.[5]

History

Innovation Norway was formed in 2004 through the merger of the Norwegian Tourist Board, the Norwegian Trade Council, the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund (SND) and the Government Consultative Office for Inventors (SVO).[6]

The “Sommarøy” controversy

In the summer of 2019, Innovation Norway was involved in the production of a spoof news story about the island of Sommarøy in Troms. The story claimed that due to long days in the summer and long nights during winter, inhabitants didn't have the need to follow international conventions of time. The aim of the spoof news story was to advertise Northern Norway.[7] The advert was originally presented as a legitimate news story, and its multiple false claims were only discovered after the story had been disseminated worldwide. The company was strongly criticized for their promotional strategy.[8][9][10] Innovation Norway has since issued an apology, regretting their lack of transparency and vowing to scrutinize their routines.[11]

See also

External links

References

  1. Innovation Norway employees LinkedIn, retrieved February 18, 2012^
  2. Ulf Tudem. Marine Design: Air Supported Vessels Impress MarineLink, February 13, 2012, retrieved February 18, 2012^
  3. Targovax Secures NOK 13 Million Series A Funding for TGO1 Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Development Targovax, February 1, 2012, retrieved February 18, 2012^
  4. Cameron Chai. Thin Film, PARC Receive FlexTech Alliance Award for Printed Non-Volatile Memory Device AZoNetwork, February 13, 2012, retrieved February 18, 2012^
  5. UK teams up with Norway for £2m biofuels projects BusinessGreen, January 10, 2012, retrieved February 18, 2012^
  6. Eirik Rossen. Slår sammen hjelp til innovasjon Digi.no, October 8, 2003, retrieved July 23, 2025^
  7. Martin Hall Larsen. Øysamfunn vil kvitte seg med tiden: – Klokken skaper bare stress NRK, June 6, 2019, retrieved June 26, 2019^
  8. Martin Hall Larsen. Klokkeløse Sommarøy lurte "hele" verden NRK, June 25, 2019, retrieved June 26, 2019^
  9. David Nikel. Norway's 'Time-Free' Island Was Just An Elaborate PR Stunt Forbes, retrieved June 28, 2019^
  10. Norwegische Staatsbehörde verbreitet Fake-News, um Tourismus anzukurbeln stern.de, June 26, 2019, retrieved June 28, 2019^
  11. Innovasjon Norge beklager Sommarøy-saken www.innovasjonnorge.no, retrieved November 28, 2020^