This project was sponsored by the European Union (EU) and Sörmland Regional Council.

The EU is the world’s first supernational organization. It’s a unique political and economic union between 27 European countries.

Through it, members benefit from a single European market, as well as the free movement of goods, services, people and funds.

Members struggling with their economy also receive regional development funds to develop their infrastructure and technologies.

As for Sörmland Regional Council, this is a Swedish politically governed body that represents the nine municipalities in the county.

In addition to working on the region’s infrastructure and economic development, the Council is responsible for handling regional development issues.

Sweden foresaw a shift in its industrial landscape. While it was proactively upskilling the native population, it also had to identify gaps in the economic development.

The Council wished to gain insight into current and future economic and skills development. Therefore, it needed to collect data from companies that were already operating in the Sörmland county.

By further applying data analytics, the Council and EU can detect challenges and work on addressing them. Therefore, it can make better policy-related decisions that safeguard the interests of the county and its industries.

After careful analysis and research on the requirements of the project, DPL created three surveys – Bio-Based Industries in Sörmland, Industrial and Technology Companies, and Small and Medium-sized Companies.

Through the Bio-Based Industries in Sörmland survey, the Council and EU can better understand the current position of companies within bio-based industries. Data collected through the survey can then help assess how technological development can drive change and the need for new skills.

The Industrial and Technology Companies national survey helps determine how much more technology would industrial and technology companies use in the future and the skills they required.

Based on this data, Mälardalen Industrial Technology Center, MITC, would highlight the structural problems related to the supply of skills in Sweden.

Finally, the Small and Medium-sized Companies survey allows SMEs in Sörmland to provide their own input on what they believe their future holds and what skills they will need to meet the current needs for smart industries.