The research center DIG is responding to a call for action by launching a new research project focusing on growth in the export of services.

Background

The Minister of Industry, Mr. Jan Christian Vestre, has announced a growth strategy for export: a 50% increase in non-traditional export by 2030.

To deliver on this goal, the Government has launched a new initiative called “The whole of Norway exports”. Here the authorities, businesses, and policy instruments will join forces to make offensive moves abroad.

At DIG we applaud the initiative of growth in non-traditional industries, i.e., resource-based industries like oil, gas, electricity, fish-farming, and timber-based goods.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (SSB), 80% of Norway’s GDP is in services occupying about the same amount of the labor force.

Consequently, Norway can be defined as a small, open digital, and affluent service economy – an economy we need to understand better.

Approach

Profitable and sustainable growth in the export of services is a new arena for leaders and policymakers and any measures to promote growth, must be evidence-based. In response, the board of directors at DIG has decided to launch a new initiative:

“Digital Innovation and sustainable growth in export of services” (DIG-X).

Researchers at DIG together with partners Abelia and Virke will take lead in this initiative on behalf of DIG partners.

The goal for DIG-X is to support leaders and policymakers with scientific evidence that will improve the impact of measures on the micro and macro level. These will strengthen sustainable and profitable growth in the export of services by ensuring that key design and implementation decisions are science and evidence-based. 

NHH professor Tor W Andreassen will lead the project with DIG’s center coordinator Irene H Moe as a coordinator.

Stages and Phases

DIG-X will have two stages and three phases:

Stage 1: deliveries by Christmas 2022

1. factfinding – what do we know from statistics at SSB, EU, and OECD
2. literature review – what can contemporary research inform us about the export of services

Stage 2: formulated by 1Q 2023.

3. forming a research agenda for digital innovation and sustainable growth in the export of services