Social and economic development. Рубрика в журнале - Arctic and North

Статья научная
The article analyzes the possibilities of studying the issues of the interterritorial distribution of the economy, taking into account maritime communications in the development of solid minerals in the western sector of the Russian Arctic on the basis of interaction of national and corporate interests at the regional level. Relatively large deposits of solid minerals are located in this region. The development of non-ferrous metal deposits, taking into account the requirements of rational nature management, is the engine of economic development in the western Arctic regions of Russia. An urgent task is the scientific substantiation of favorable conditions for the comprehensive development of marine activities, necessary technological and human potential, economic benefits from the use of domestic marine potential, mineral resources and spaces of the western part of the Russian Arctic in the interests of national security, economic development and improving the welfare of citizens of the Russian Federation. The information framework is based on the experience of developing lead-zinc ore deposits in the Arctic. The topic under study is consistent with the provisions of regional and sectoral economics, as well as spatial economics. This scientific basis makes it possible to substantiate the spatial organization of the national economy in the development of solid minerals in the western part of the Russian Arctic.
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Status and specifics of the housing market in the Arctic regions of Russia
Статья научная
This paper aims to analyze and identify the specifics of housing industry development in the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation using methods of comparative, analysis, statistical methods of grouping indicators, the method of scoring points. In the course of the work, an analysis of economic indicators of the housing market development, an assessment of the population's effective demand for housing. The main trends in the housing market development in the arctic regions were identified. The results show insufficient and uneven rates of construction of housing, a high share of emergency housing, and low investment in the housing industry in some regions. A disparity was observed between real estate prices and the population income because the population debt burden on the housing credit is quite high. According to the developed by the authors’ method of assessing the housing market based on selected indicators, the main problems are characterized and the development of the housing market in the arctic regions is assessed. It was found that in some regions the level of economic indicators of housing market development and the population's solvency significantly lags the Russian trends. The results have practical significance for the federal and regional authorities in creating housing policies and the implementation programs of national projects in the sphere of housing affordability, the main directions which should be demographic to attract and increase the resident population in the Russian Arctic, as well as the regulatory functions of the housing market by reducing interest rates and stimulating the construction industry development.
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Статья научная
The Russian Arctic has been attracting a growing interest in terms of research and management. The former is due to the lack of knowledge about current processes in its development in the rapidly changing internal and external environments, and the latter is driven by the rising significance of this macroregion in ensuring the country’s economic, ecological, geopolitical stability, and national security. Being interdependent, these interest spheres evidence the demand for the study of Arctic regions, especially newly established ones, and underlie its practical value, which consists in building the analytical foundations for working out and implementing the administrative mechanisms for socio-economic space integration in Arctic regions. Hence, the aim of this study is to define the strategic development priorities for the regional socio-economic system of the Karelian Arctic as a newly established region in the context of the multifarious Russian Arctic integration processes. This aim is achieved through the following tasks: analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the socio-economic system of the Karelian Arctic, identification of key challenges and opportunities for its development, identification of the strategic priorities to overcome threats and realize opportunities. The principal methods were expert and in-depth interviews, SWOT analysis and content analysis, the dialectic method and system approach, which were applied in the context of the propositions of spatial economics. As a result of the study, characteristics of the Karelian Arctic’s socio-economic system are identified in the context of the high-relevance problems of managing the development of the Arctic macroregion as a complex system. Directions for further research are defined, with the aim to build the scientific foundations for managing the spatial development of the Russian Arctic zone and its constituent regions and for handling the challenges hindering such development.
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Strategic Trends in Energy Development of the Northern Territories of Russia
Статья научная
The dynamic development of the energy market is the source of Russia’s energy diversification processes. The study presents key areas in the development of the Russian energy sector, taking into account new trends and challenges. The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is potentially becoming a growth driver for the energy market and opens up “new windows” for the country’s economic development. It is determined that the structure of consumption, use of resources, generation and transmission of electricity is changing. Long-term trends in the energy transition demonstrate a change in the energy balance in favor of clean energy sources: wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal, hydropower, hydrogen, and bioenergy. The development of hydrogen energy, including in the northern territories of Russia, creates a reliable basis for integration into the global hydrogen infrastructure. The change in the energy balance in favor of renewable energy sources (RES) is presented. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), RES will account for up to 95% of new energy capacity additions by 2026. The global climate agenda — the rejection of fossil fuels — creates new challenges for the Russian economy and the development of its Arctic investment projects. It has been established that the current situation in the context of global technological breakthroughs and climate change is shaping the transition from vertical integration to distributed generation and decentralization. The purpose of the study is to analyze current trends in the development of the energy market, based on the results of which it is necessary to adjust the approaches of the Russian energy sector to future development, making maximum use of the opportunities of the northern territories of Russia.
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The Arctic Geo-Economy: Mobility of Strategic Oil Resources at the End of Globalization
Статья научная
A distinctive feature of the cyclical dynamics of global development is the rapid transformation of the maxim of “global superiority” into softer forms of leadership on the geopolitical and economic atlas of the modern world, such as “national power” and/or “regional advantage”. This requires a concentration of resources to achieve the latter's mobility on the strategic movement trends of contemporary Russia. The importance of oil and petroleum products in the formation of the Russian Federal Budget and the National Welfare Fund cannot be overestimated. Today, oil is essentially the main source for the successful implementation of the special military operation and, at the same time, ensuring the progressive development of Russia. The article substantiates the necessity to maintain the economic turnover of oil resources development, including in the Arctic, carries out an expert assessment of three options for the development of oil production: reduction of production; reduction of oil exports against the background of increasing domestic consumption; and ensuring the mobility of export supplies to find and develop new markets.
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Статья научная
At present, new financial mechanisms of interaction between employees and employers in the context of market relations are being formed and improved in Russia. The decisive factor in workers’ performance is their financial motivation and stimulation. The determinative of productivity of an enterprise activity is remuneration efficiency as a base of laborers’ financial motivation and stimulation. The remuneration is a flexible element of distributive relations and it is impossible to create an effective motivational mechanism without an establishment of its communication with final results. Such indices as salary distribution and salary intensity as basic indicators of wage efficiency assessment have been used in the paper. The object of the research is sixteen large and medium-sized fishing enterprises in the Arkhangelsk region as a part of the Arctic fishing cluster. These enterprises catch fish in the Barents and Norwegian seas, as well as in the North Atlantic. It has been shown that the financial results of fishing enterprises depend on external conditions — primarily on the quotas for fish catch and the price of fish products. In the research, the authors have proceeded from the following hypotheses: the Arctic fishing cluster’s enterprises operate in a monopsony on the labor market; there is a pattern between the size of wage fund and financial performance of the Arctic fishery cluster enterprises; the change in wage fund is an effective mechanism to improve the efficiency of the Arctic fishery cluster. In the course of the research, the following interrelated tasks have been solved: the identification of the features of the Arctic fishing cluster’s labor market; the assessment of the effectiveness of the wage fund use for the Arctic fishing cluster’s enterprises based on the author's methodology; the identification of the importance of the problem of insufficient efficiency of wage fund use in the Arctic fishing cluster.
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The Food Security Doctrine: Regional Aspects
Статья научная
The article discusses issues of the state of the agro-industrial complex of the region in connection with the need to fulfill the targets approved in January 2020 by the new edition of the Food Security Doctrine of Russia. The purpose of the study is to identify the problems of the northern region and to develop proposals for changing the situation for the successful implementation of the Doctrine. The scientific problem discussed in the article relates to the determination of the methodological foundations of the most relevant areas of agrarian policy for the current state, ensuring the implementation of the Food Security Doctrine of Russia and increasing the level of self-sufficiency of the region. The author's research develops the theory of determining the socio-economic role of effective interaction between authorities of different levels, scientific justification of the prospects for the further development of the agro-industrial complex due to the transformation of the industry development management system, innovative approach to training personnel for the agricultural sector, and introduction of new technological solutions as highly relevant. It has been established that such factors as the lack of effective interaction between the state and municipal authorities, and also the lack of young qualified personnel, whose competence meets the modern requirements, have a negative impact on the economy of agricultural production and food self-sufficiency of the region as a whole. The article draws attention to the underestimated opportunities for improving the situation in the agro-industrial complex due to a change in the scheme of interaction between the state and municipal authorities during the implementation of the program-targeted method of regulation and strategic planning, as well as the creation of a scientific and educational complex in the region for the training of competitive specialists for the agro-industrial complex. In order to improve the situation, it is necessary to consolidate the formation of a regional agricultural system on the basis of a set of similar systems developed by the municipalities themselves, based on the relevant climatic conditions, financial, material and labor resources of these areas. Besides, it is necessary to start the training of personnel for the agroindustrial complex system from school, applying new educational standards, based on scientific developments.
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The Nuclear Icebreaker Fleet and Its Role in the Economic Development of the Northern Sea Route
Статья научная
This scientific article studies the development of nuclear icebreakers, the history of their commissioning and service; the growth of nuclear icebreaker capacity is investigated. The Soviet and Russian stages of their history have been compared. A diagram of this development was constructed. Key tactical and technical data of nuclear icebreakers are compared; their proportionality and similarity are proved. The prospects of the nuclear icebreaker fleet development are investigated. The growth of cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route in 1933–2022 is analyzed and systematized. The development of nuclear icebreakers is compared with the growth of cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route, their interdependence is proved; the diagram of this interdependence is constructed. The reasons for the influence of both the development of the human economy and political events in and around Russia on the changes in the grouping of nuclear icebreakers are revealed. It is identified that the volumes of transportations along the Northern Sea Route in the 21st century are many times higher than in the Soviet era, largely due to the growth of the quality and quantity of the nuclear icebreaker fleet. The reasons for the reduction of the nuclear icebreaker fleet at the beginning of the 21st century under the influence of the general temporary reduction of cargo flows along the Northern Sea Route are shown. Maximum small and optimal sizes of nuclear icebreakers grouping for effective operation of the Northern Sea Route are specified.
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The blue economy in the Arctic Ocean: governing aquaculture in Alaska and North Norway
Статья научная
In the Arctic, the concept of the blue economy is increasingly dominating discussions on regional development. This entails utilising the region’s ocean-based resources in a sustainable way - both from a global and local level, as well as from an environmental and economic perspective. A crucial aspect in this development is how blue activities are regulated. The UNCLOS-regime plays a vital part in providing the mechanisms and procedures for states to manage marine resources more broadly. However, the predominant mode of governance for Arctic maritime activities will remain unilateral management by each of the coastal states. Thus, the national and local legal and political framework needs to be mapped. In this article we will explore and explain how aqua/-mariculture is governed in the United States (Alaska) and Norway (North Norway). This will be done by examining how parameters for blue economic projects are defined and determined at the international, regional, national and local governance level. Thus, our article will illustrate the complexity behind the blue economy. There is no such thing as one blue economy and no such thing as one Arctic, but it is still possible to find common ground and avenues for knowledge and best practice exchange. By this we will bring the academic and political discussions about the blue economy on the right track.
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Статья научная
The article considers the relationship of social capital, institutional and interpersonal trust, and entrepreneurial activity on the data of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The authors, following R. Putnam, analytically distinguish two types of social capital - bonding and bridging. The level of the former is measured by interpersonal trust indices, while the latter is measured by general and institutional trust indices. Based on the analysis of the sociological survey results, conducted by the authors of the article, it is shown that the level of bonding capital, based on trust in the nearest social environment, is quite high in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, but there is a shortage of bridging capital that based on trust in public institutions and civil solidarity. It is shown that the deficit of bridging social capital, associated with a low level of trust in institutions, increases the transaction costs of market agents like entrepreneurs, which negatively affects the implementation of the region's entrepreneurial potential. Thus, it is proved that the amount of social capital is a key non-economic factor that reduces the investment rating and entrepreneurial activity indicators in the region against the backdrop of low dynamics of gross regional product and population incomes and increasing government spending to stimulate small and medium-sized businesses.
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The courage of economic decisions and the modern development of the Russian Arctic
Статья научная
The article analyzes the phenomenon of the courage of economic decisions in the development of the Russian Arctic. Courage is understood as a feature of contractual behavior - the ability to radically change or propose new conditions for an economic contract, which leads to dramatic shifts in the territorial, technological and organizational structure of the development process. In the modern development of the Arctic, new factors that affect the boldness of economic decisions are considered. First of all, it is climate change that pushes the boundaries of what is possible for maritime logistics, for the arrangement and extraction of the Arctic’s natural resources from offshore platforms. The manifestations of courage as a result of “infection” from small venture companies for large corporations and as a forced result of a contractual inter-corporate conflict are also considered. For modern development, important factors that determine the boldness of decisions are logistics, platform technology, and the complete or partial abandonment of the use of icebreakers in favor of specialized ice-strengthened ships. An estimation was made of the courage of business decisions for 24 projects of modern exploration of the Arctic resources using the U-ETO algorithm: according to 12 indicators grouped in blocks of “uniqueness”, “environment”, “technology”, and “organization”. As a result of this assessment, it was concluded that the courage of economic decisions is not directly related to the capital intensity of investment projects: relatively modest mining projects of new development can exceed super-capital intensive investment megaprojects for the development of hydrocarbons (e.g., Bovanenkovo or Vankor) if they rely on innovative technologies, organizational scheme and marine environment for its logistics, production, and processing. A major contradiction in the modern development of the Russian Arctic is the contrast between the uniqueness of the natural assets of the field and the traditional methods of its arrangement and development.
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The education system development as a factor in the demographic growth of the Far North of Russia
Статья научная
The Far North is an important area that, to a great extent, determines the prospects for the socioeconomic development of Russia. Nevertheless, no particular synthetic development program for these territories has been worked out. Existing programs for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation pay very little attention to demography and education. Based on Rosstat data and expert assessments, the author considers the dynamics of the age and educational structures of the population of the Far North. Special attention is paid to the group under 30 years old since it is the primary consumer of the education services. The author also addresses the question of how the development of the education system affects the demographic and economic development of the Far North. It has been argued that since 1990 the number and proportion of young people have declined significantly and will continue to decline until 2035. The European part of the Far North has a much worse dynamic compared to the Asian one. The educational structure of the population of the Far North is close to the total in the country, but the proportion of the people with secondary vocational education is higher but declining. It reflects the economy features of this macroregion. The examples discussed in the article prove the development of education will have a positive effect on demographic and economic indicators.
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The innovative vector of the Nordic countries’ competitiveness: case of Sweden
Статья научная
Innovation and competitiveness are among key research topics in the social, economic and hu-manitarian fields. This article describes specific aspects of innovation policy in Sweden, one of the dynami-cally developing Northern European countries. This development is confirmed by the position of the coun-try in the global innovation and competitiveness rankings. It is shown that high position of Sweden arises from the successful use of its geographic location, the “welfare state” model put into practice, the effective interactions of the state, science, and business, the implementation of research policy, according to which universities and research, and educational centers, involved in technology clusters formation, play an im-portant role. The existing Arctic strategy developed in Sweden adds relevance to the research. The Arctic strategy states that “growth and competitiveness based on overcoming trade barriers, research and educa-tion system, as well as on international cooperation within the Arctic Council, the EU and the UN” will have crucial significance for the sustainable social and economic development of the state. From a practical point of view, the Swedish experience in the formation of an innovation economy, which includes northern re-gions as well, is of interest for the Russian subarctic areas. The article can be used for the educational pro-cess at universities. It is relevant for civil servants and researchers, economists and geographers involved in forecasting and territorial development of the northern regions.
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The power of connectivity in the Arctic: citizen participation in arctic institutions
Статья научная
Increasing business opportunities in the Arctic in the spheres of tourism, transport, mining, oil and gas and creative industries require efficient connectivity. Arctic territories offer an attractive place for data servers running on green energy. The subsea fiber cable connecting European High North territories with the US and Asia is an opportunity to improve connectivity in the Arctic. The opening of the Arctic sea creates preconditions for such a project. In this paper, I study existing Arctic institutions that deal with connectivity issues in the Arctic. As theoretical frameworks, I use Gaventa’s (1982) framework of power and powerlessness and stakeholder participation model. The power and powerlessness and modes of participation of stakeholders at the national and regional levels are investigated. I use secondary data, such as the EU and regional policies, statistical data on the topic of connectivity in the Arctic. The study contributes to the understanding of power structure and citizen participation in the Arctic institutions by using an example of connectivity in the Arctic. The findings suggest that Arctic institutions have very limited citizen participation opportunities due to their composition, working formats, and governance structures. Several suggestions for opening-up closed spaces to be inclusive of Arctic citizens perspectives are suggested.
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Статья научная
The new version of the state program “Social and economic development of the Arctic zone” and the draft law “On the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation” have designated support zones as the main instrument for the development of the Arctic. Their main task, according to the specified documents, is the development of mineral and raw materials centers (MRCs) in the Arctic zone of Russia, attraction of investments, development of the Northern Sea Route and development of energy infrastructure. Therefore, the selection of promising mineral and raw materials centers in the support zones in the Russian Arctic is an urgent task. By actualization of information on the resource potential of the Arctic zone of Russia, it is possible to form a list of prospective MRCs, the development and support of which should be in the priority focus of public policy in this region. Equally important is the analysis of key risks such as financial, construction and geological risks that arise when creating and developing mineral resource centers and have a significant impact on the profitability of such projects. The paper suggests some indicators that assess the macroeconomic, social, geopolitical and innovative effects that arise in the development of MRCs and which should be used for evaluating the social and economic impacts of MRC projects in support areas. Also, it is necessary to take into account the social and economic importance of MRC projects and the impact of their results on the life of the population. As the primary approach in the selection and creation of mineral resource centers, the authors propose the use of the cluster approach. Such clusters will act as pivots in the spatial organization of the regional economy and will achieve the maximum multiplicative effect. In conclusion, based on the analysis, the authors formulated the main principles for the implementation of MRC projects, which include: the formation of a single geological exploration program, the joint development of nearby deposits, and the formation of complex socio-economic effects for the exploration areas.
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Статья научная
The article considers the main prerequisites and the directions of development of Northern and Arctic areas of the Krasnoyarsk Krai based on creation of reliable local transport and power infrastructure and formation of hi-tech and competitive territorial clusters. We examine both the current (new large mining and processing works in the Norilsk industrial region; development of Ust-Eniseysky group of oil and gas fields; gasification of the Krasnoyarsk agglomeration with the resources of bradenhead gas of Evenkia; ren-ovation of housing and public utilities of the Norilsk agglomeration; development of the Arctic and north-ern tourism and others), and earlier considered, but rejected, projects (construction of a large hydroelectric power station on the Nizhnyaya Tunguska river; development of the Porozhinsky manganese field; place-ment of the metallurgical enterprises using the Norilsk ores near Lower Angara region; construction of the meridional Yenisei railroad and others) and their impact on the development of the region. It is shown that in new conditions it is expedient to return to consideration of these projects with the use of modern tech-nologies and organizational approaches. It means, above all, formation of the local integrated regional pro-duction systems and networks providing interaction and cooperation of the fuel and raw, processing and innovative sectors. At the same time, the added value of the extracting and processing industries is local-ized in the area and will be mobilized for the purposes of high-performance technical and infrastructure base of the regional economy. The specified effect promotes economic development and leads to diversifi-cation of the monoprofile economy of the northern and Arctic regions. The provisions of the article and its suggestions can be considered as elements of the future development strategy for the Northern and Arctic territories of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. Results of the research can be used for adjustment and formation of long-term and medium-term investment programs at the state and municipal levels of management and also in development strategies of industrial, transport and power corporations.
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The role of labor potential in the sustainable development of the Russian Arctic
Статья научная
The key to the effective development of the Arctic resources is the active development of elements of the socio-economic systems of the Arctic territories. The progress in their use will provide a synergistic effect in the implementation of the full range of development priorities of the Arctic zone. One of these elements is labor potential, able to confront challenges in the Arctic effectively. Modern problems of the development of the labor potential of the Arctic territories are population decline, disruption of population reproduction processes, the low life expectancy of men and native people, social tensions in labor markets, and poverty. The provisions and conclusions of the presented study contain a scientifically substantiated position regarding the role of labor potential in the sustainable development of the Arctic territories of Russia. The research results are focused on their use for managing the development of the labor potential of the Arctic territories. Prospects for the further research of this topic are related to the study of the scientific foundations of the territorial self-development in achieving sustainable development of the Arctic territories of Russia.
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Статья научная
Based on the data from the State Archive of the Arkhangelsk Region, the article assesses the status of merchant and folk Pomor shipbuilding in the North in the 20th century. The key method of the research is the induction method, which is actively used in the historical school of economics, which set as its goal, including the analysis of specific economic situations in a state at a certain stage of its historical de-velopment. During the process of research, the analysis has been made of the certain cases and documents of the Arkhangelsk Society for the Study of the Russian North, as well as historical reviews of the Arkhangelsk Governorate Statistical Committee. The conclusion was made overall about the negative perception of regional authorities of the level of development of commodity turnover in the Empire, the absence of high-quality “logistics,” bureaucratic red tape, legal barriers to support shipbuilders, as well as technological advantages of foreign fishing vessels. A constructive reform of the regional authorities in the second half of the 19th century meant the plan for the development of road infrastructure between Arkhangelsk and the town of Povenets in the Olonets Province (Governorate), the development of skipper courses, the creation of a typical improved model of a karbas and a cargo schooner for training future shipbuilders, skippers.
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Статья научная
On the basis of archival documents, entered into scientific circulation, the author considers the local experience of organizational and management activities in relation to the farms of the North of Yaku-tia within a specially created agro-industrial complex (AIC). In the considered period of the AIC “Sever” ac-tivities, in 1989-1991, organizational processes of unbundling of state farms and the beginning of reorgani-zation of management were decisive. At the end of 1990s, for the first time, decisions on transition to mar-ket relations were officially declared by the AIC. At the same time, the real social and economic situation of farms had already begun to show the deterioration, incl. a decrease in the quantitative indicator — reduc-tion in the number of farms in the studied areas. As it is in the documents, the state of home reindeer hus-bandry, the leading economic sector in the North, was of a particular concern.
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The “third mission” in the Arctic universities’ development strategies
Статья научная
Currently, applying the “third mission” at universities is of relevance, since it also forms the basis of universities' activities along with education and science. Scientific understanding of this issue had been carried out by Russian and foreign scientists. The main components of the “third mission” are the commercialization of intellectual property, technology transfer, and innovation, the development of a university as an entrepreneurial structure, continuous education, social involvement, support for the development of regions, participation in the life of the local community, etc. The article analyzes the experience of applying the “third mission” on the example of universities located in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and some foreign Arctic universities. For this purpose, the documents defining the strategic development of two Russian (Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov and Murmansk Arctic State University) and five foreign Arctic universities (University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University of Oulu (Finland), the University of Iceland (Iceland), the University of Umeå (Sweden), and the Luleå University of Technology (Sweden). Specific forms and mechanisms used by universities are also analyzed. They contribute to the assessment of nature, characteristics, the degree of the “third mission” application carried out by universities.
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