The City’s business services, cooperation with higher education institutions and investment attraction

The goal of the assessment

The main question of the assessment was whether the City has succeeded in supporting the strengthening of business and innovation environments. This was assessed by examining whether the City has created an operating model for the placement of companies, strengthened cooperation with higher education institutions and supported the development of higher education campuses into strong innovation and competence clusters. Whether the Economic Development Department has succeeded in developing the fluency and availability of services for companies was also assessed. 

Conclusions

Helsinki has been successful in supporting the strengthening of its business and innovation environments. There is an operating model in place for the placement of companies, and cooperation with higher education institutions has been strengthened. The Economic Development Department has sought to improve the fluency and availability of services intended for companies, and in the future the aim is to target the services more effectively. Challenges for the business environment are set by the fact that as the city structure becomes more dense, it becomes more and more difficult to find space for certain types of business activities. The City has succeeded in strengthening the innovation system by actively working as a partner of higher education institutions, research institutes and companies in research, development and innovation activities. However, the City funding available for projects has decreased.