Mid-term Evaluation of the Ecosystem instrument (Business Finland’s Leading Companies Initiative)

MDI, in cooperation with VTT, carried out an interim evaluation of the Leading Companies Initiative ecosystem instrument on behalf of Business Finland. The instrument was launched by Business Finland in 2020 as a challenge competition for leading companies.  The aim of the instrument is to challenge Finland’s leading companies to significantly increase their RDI investments, create new jobs and build new high-value-added business ecosystems. The aim is to solve significant future challenges and contribute to the Government Programme’s 4% RDI (research, development and innovation) and 75% employment targets.

The mid-term evaluation work examined the effects Business Finland’s investments have had on the development and growth of these ecosystems, the importance of cooperation between companies and research organisations and the extent to which Business Finland’s investments have induced the spreading of knowledge and other external effects beyond these ecosystems. In the interim evaluation, methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the Leading Companies instrument were also developed. The evaluation was finalised at the end of 2024.