Performance and co-operation in the Oslo region business sector

The aim of this report is to map the activities of the business sector in the Oslo region, especially the strengths and capabilities of the regional innovation system. Key aspects to address include describing the business sector in the Oslo region in terms of employment and share of firms, and thereafter illuminate the performance and main forms of interaction between the business sector and other actors in the economy, first and foremost the scientific infrastructure.Our intention is to provide an empirical basis for understanding contact between the ‘demand’ side and the ‘supply’ side of the region. Broadly speaking, this consists of interaction between industry on the one hand and the knowledge infrastructure on the other. Our study has four basic steps:i) Mapping the business sector in the Oslo-region, we measure the most important economic activities in the region by looking at employment figures.ii) We also map the human resources found in industries in the region, indicating the knowledge intensity of different industries. This overview also enables us to map the industries in the region that have the largest share of highly skilled employees. We also look at patterns of personnel mobility between different sectors of the economy in the region.iii) The share of companies innovating among different manufacturing and service firms in the region is also analysed, together with the performance of that activity. We are also interested in how firms innovate, and examine firms’ objectives for innovation and also their sources of information for innovation.Firms’ innovation-collaboration patterns with other actors are also of great interest. Of particular interest are the relationships firms perceive as most successful. In addition, it will be interesting to see what forms of interaction firms value the most. These findings will give us an idea of the extent and the success of interaction in the innovation process.