Action Plan

The Nordic Bridge project is structured over 36 months and consists of three interconnected work packages designed to address the regional challenge of improving collaboration between academia and society through a digital matchmaking portal. The project uses a Quadruple Helix Model, involving academia, public authorities, the private sector, and the community.

Workpackages

The Nordic Bridge project is structured around three interconnected Work Packages (WPs) that together aim to design, develop, and deliver a digital matchmaking platform that links real-world societal challenges with academic expertise, student engagement, and innovation capacity across the Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) region. Together, the three WPs ensure that the Nordic Bridge portal is not just a digital tool, but a strategically grounded, co-designed, and practically tested solution that supports regional innovation, talent retention, and societal problem-solving throughout the NPA region.

Workpackages, Deliverables, Outputs, and Results

Work Package 1 lays the strategic groundwork by building a transnational partnership network involving academia, municipalities, business clusters, and student organizations. Through outreach activities, communication channels, and stakeholder engagement events, this WP ensures that the project maintains strong connections to regional needs and strategic priorities. It also sets the stage for long-term sustainability by developing collaboration agreements and a strategy for continued use of the platform beyond the project period. Work Package 2 is dedicated to the user-driven design of the matchmaking portal. Through participatory workshops, interviews, and design sprints held in each partner country, this WP captures the needs and expectations of different user groups. The result will be a co-created Portal Design Framework that reflects regional diversity, user accessibility, and the functional needs of stakeholders ranging from students and researchers to municipalities and businesses. Work Package 3 translates the framework into a functional digital prototype. This WP focuses on iterative prototyping, real-life testing, and final platform deployment. Stakeholders will actively test the portal and provide feedback to refine its functionality and usability. The final version of the platform will support matchmaking between challenge providers (such as municipalities and SMEs) and solvers (such as students and researchers), fostering collaboration on sustainable solutions with societal relevance.

Objective: Ensure effective stakeholder engagement, long-term sustainability, and promotion of the Nordic Bridge project.

Key Activities:
- Develop and maintain communication channels (webpage, LinkedIn).
- Organize stakeholder and partner meetings.
- Promote transnational knowledge exchange.
- Develop a sustainability strategy.
Deliverables:
- Project website and LinkedIn page (D.1.1.1).
- Transnational knowledge transfer report (D.1.4.1).
Outputs:
- Cross-Border Knowledge Exchange (Output 1.1) – 24 organizations involved.
- Joint Thesis Agreements (Output 1.2) – 1 cross-border thesis agreement established.
- Portal Usability for Public Institutions (Output 1.3) – At least 6 public institutions testing the portal.

Objective: Co-design the portal using input from all stakeholders following the Quadruple Helix model.

Key Activities:
- Stakeholder consultations and needs mapping (Activity 2.1).
- Co-creation workshops to develop the portal design framework (Activity 2.2).
Deliverables:
- Design Requirements and Needs Report (D.2.1.1).
- Portal Design Framework Report (D.2.2.1)

Objective: Build and refine the portal prototype through user testing and feedback.

Key Activities:
- Develop a functional prototype of the portal (Activity 3.1).
- Conduct stakeholder-based usability testing and revisions (Activity 3.2).
Deliverables:
- Functional prototype of the portal (D.3.1.1).
- Stakeholder testing and feedback report (D.3.2.1).
Output:
- Portal Pilot Usability Testing (Output 3.1) – Tested by 6 public sector organizations

Result 1: Scalable Digital Solution

Description: Final deployment of the Nordic Bridge portal as a fully operational digital matchmaking platform. The platform will be shared with entities outside the core consortium, positioning it for upscaling and broader adoption.

Result 2: Joint Thesis Agreements

Description: Establishment of formal agreements between partner universities to support cross-border bachelor’s and master’s thesis projects, including aligned structures and procedures.

Result 3: User Uptake of Digital Services

Description: At least 100 individuals (students, academics, stakeholders) will have used or created accounts on the Nordic Bridge portal by project end, demonstrating its value and usability in solving real-world problems.

Action Plan

Workpackages

Workpackages, Deliverables, Outputs, and Results

Work Package 1: Strategic Outreach, Collaboration, Sustainability, and Sustainable Impact

Work Package 2: Sustainable and Adaptive Design of the Portal

Work Package 3: Prototyping, Testing and Final Design

Results