NORDFORSK

Their core work

NordForsk is the Nordic intergovernmental body for research funding and research infrastructure coordination, operating under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Their core work is facilitating and funding cooperative research across the five Nordic countries, and connecting Nordic research institutions with European and global frameworks. In H2020, they played two distinct roles: first as a facilitator of transatlantic ICT policy dialogues between Europe and North America, and then as coordinator of the Nordic pillar of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), helping universities and research institutions across Scandinavia adopt shared data infrastructure and FAIR data principles. They do not conduct lab research — they build the organisational and technical bridges that enable others to collaborate.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 engagement (2016–2017), NordForsk focused on international dialogue and networking — specifically on structured ICT policy conversations between Europe and North America, using facilitation methods and capacity-building to generate shared vision and orient cooperation. By 2019–2022, the focus had shifted entirely to concrete data infrastructure: EOSC, FAIR data principles, repositories, and service management as part of a pan-European open science effort. This is a clear move from soft coordination (dialogue, networking, political alignment) toward hard infrastructure coordination (building and operating shared digital research services).

NordForsk is evolving from a policy facilitator into an infrastructure coordinator — organisations looking for a partner to anchor Nordic participation in open science, research data, or digital infrastructure initiatives should consider them a natural entry point.

How they like to work

NordForsk has operated as both coordinator and participant across their two projects, suggesting flexibility in role depending on the initiative's scope. Their network of 37 unique partners across 15 countries points to broad, non-exclusive partnerships rather than a tight recurring consortium. As a Nordic intergovernmental body, they tend to convene rather than execute — they are most valuable in consortia where legitimacy, Nordic institutional reach, and access to national research councils are needed.

NordForsk has engaged 37 unique partners across 15 countries in just two projects, reflecting the broad coalitions typical of infrastructure and coordination initiatives. Their network is primarily European with a documented transatlantic dimension (USA, Canada) from their DISCOVERY participation.

What sets them apart

NordForsk is the only organisation with a formal mandate to coordinate research cooperation across all five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), giving them unmatched institutional access in that region. For any European consortium that needs credible Nordic representation — whether in open science, digital research infrastructure, or research policy — NordForsk is the natural anchor. Their dual experience in both transatlantic dialogue and EOSC infrastructure means they can bridge policy alignment and technical implementation in ways few national bodies can.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EOSC-Nordic
  NordForsk served as coordinator of this 2019–2022 RIA project, leading the Nordic implementation of the European Open Science Cloud with the largest budget of their H2020 portfolio (EUR 498,249) and the broadest consortium reach.
• DISCOVERY
  Demonstrated NordForsk's capacity for transatlantic science diplomacy, bridging ICT research agendas between the EU, Canada, and the USA through structured co-creative dialogue formats — a rarely seen competence in Nordic research bodies.