Need for more knowledeg to take the next step?
You can find details of what is being offered at www.matnett.com or at the website of your regional competence centre. Which competence centre you belong to depends on which county you live in and which would be the most natural for you to contact. The programmes are however available to all Norwegian companies, wherever in the country they may be.
The Competence Network is part of Innovation Norway's value creation programme for food in the agricultural sector. This is a political initiative to stimulate profitability through diversity of agricultural products of high quality and an added value in the market.
The Visit Scheme
This is one of several activities in the competence network for small scale production. In the visit scheme, a Norwegian company can be visited, free of charge, by an adviser relevant to its own business. This might be an expert in whatever technical area relating to food might be required. During the course of the visit, some actual work can be carried out as well as giving advice and a simple analysis to determine the current situation, potential and needs. The adviser can also point the way to other competence sources and possibly also public resources, based on the individual company's needs.
We already have many good examples of small food producers who have received valuable assistance in areas such as:
• Product and process development
• Test production of new products
• Shelf life and hygiene
• Requirements of regulations and customers
• Marketing and branding
• Design
• Distribution
• Price calculation
• Business development and strategies
Some companies may also be offered follow up projects with a costs ceiling of up to NOK 30,000 and 20% company contribution.
The five competence centres and their contacts are:
North Norway Region (Finnmark, Troms and Nordland)
Bioforsk Nord Holt, Postboks 2284, NO-9269 Tromsø, NORWAY.
Contact person: Ulrike Naumann, tel. +47 406 42 074
Central Norway Region (The Trøndelag counties and Møre og Romsdal)
Mære Landbruksskole, NO-7710 Sparbu, NORWAY.
Contact person: Tove Hatling Jystad, tel. +47 74 17 04 30
West Norway Region (Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane)
Sogn Jord og Hagebruksskule, NO-5745 Aurland, NORWAY.
Contact person: Anne Therese Langsbakken, tel. +47 57 63 26 56
East Norway Region (Buskerud, Oppland, Oslo & Akershus, Østfold, Vestfold and Telemark)
Nofima Mat, Osloveien 1, NO-1430 Ås, NORWAY.
Contact person: Stine Alm Hersleth, tel. +47 64 97 03 20
South Norway Region (Aust-Agder, Vest-Agder and Rogaland)
Nofima Mat Norconserv, Postboks 327, NO-4002 Stavanger, NORWAY.
Contact person: Aase Vorre Skuland, tel. +47 51 84 46 00
The national coordinator for the Competence Network is:
Therese Hagtvedt, Nofima Mat, tel. +47 64 97 03 31
Contact person at Innovation Norway is:
Knut Saxebøl
