Co-creating the Future of Talent Attraction is a highly appreciated, hands-on programme designed for professionals working strategically with talent attraction and retention.

As competition for skills intensifies, places must move beyond ad-hoc initiatives towards structured, long-term and innovative approaches. This programme helps cities and regions strengthen their capability, sharpen their strategy and develop concrete, implementable solutions — together with peers facing similar challenges.

The Programme

The programme combines peer learning, strategic frameworks and practical tools across four interactive workshops.

Working both within your own team and in cross-regional groups, you will define key challenges, explore new perspectives and develop actionable solutions. Each team refines a concrete solution throughout the programme and presents it at the final session.

The methodology is based on Design Thinking, ensuring solutions are user-centred, tested and ready to implement.

Each team also receives four dedicated coaching sessions to support internal anchoring and real-world implementation.

The programme is closely linked to our Talent Attraction Management (TAM) model, providing a structured framework that participants can apply long after the programme ends. Inspirational talks from leading practitioners further enrich the learning experience.

Who Is It For?

The programme is designed for teams working with talent attraction and competence supply at local or regional level.

Each participating organisation joins with a team of up to six people — often a mix of business developers, economic development officers, communicators, strategists and talent attraction professionals from the same municipality. Many regional authorities also participate together with municipalities, and in some cases representatives from academia or cluster organisations are included.

The core idea is simple: bring together the team you want to collaborate with around Talent Attraction Management.

Over the past editions, around 150 participants from cities and regions across Sweden and Europe have taken part — including Stockholm Business Region, Malmö City, Skellefteå Municipality, Nacka Municipality, Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Region Gotland, and the municipalities of Luleå and Boden.

What You Gain

By participating, you will:

• Develop a structured and strategic approach to talent attraction
• Strengthen your team’s shared competence and internal alignment
• Gain practical tools and tested methodologies
• Co-create a concrete solution tailored to your organisation
• Expand your peer network
• Increase your ability to move from strategy to implementation
  

Above all, you become part of a growing community of place leaders shaping the future of talent attraction.

Next Edition

The fifth edition runs in Sweden from December 2025 to March 2026.

Interested in joining a future edition? Sign up for more information via the link below.

What Previous Participants Say

“The Co-Create programme was valuable in several ways for us. It gave us the opportunity to deepen our knowledge together with colleagues working directly or indirectly with talent attraction. We developed a shared language around the issue and gained insights that we can spread within our department. The many good examples from across Sweden and internationally were extremely useful.”
Henrik Nilsson, Business Developer, Malmö City

“For us, the programme was incredibly valuable. As a team — and together with other professionals in the field — we shared experiences and developed our competence. It was especially rewarding to jointly tackle our challenges and create new solutions.”
Jenny Johansson, Head of Marketing, Business Region Örebro

“Co-Create gave us the answer to the difficult question of method and process around talent attraction for Gotland. The programme created new insights and opportunities for collaboration — both internally and with other municipalities and regions. We will benefit from the TAM model in many other contexts as well.”
Mimmi Gibson, Deputy Head of Unit, Sustainable Growth, Region Gotland

The post Program: Co-creating the Future of Talent Attraction first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

Most welcome to join us in Skellefteå for PLACExNordic!

This time, we aim to renew ourselves – and you. And your place. Place resilience is no longer a niche concept – it’s at the heart of how communities prepare for the future.

That’s why we’ve chosen “Resilient Future Places – From Adapting to Advancing, Shaping the Places of Tomorrow” as the theme for PLACExNordic 2026.

At this conference, we look beyond today’s uncertainty and turbulence and focus on how places can move from adapting to advancing. What choices and strategies must we make now to ensure we are ready for what’s next? I

t is no coincidence that PLACExNordic takes place in Skellefteå, Sweden. The north of the country has become the epicentre of an extraordinary societal transformation. PLACExNordic 2026 is also part of Society Expo 2026 – a global event that highlights the very questions our theme is built on: resilience, renewal, and collaboration.

And the questions are real. Has your community planned for a drone port yet? Why should you?

Join us in Skellefteå this June to explore why.

Together we’ll dig into the strategies, partnerships, and ideas shaping tomorrow’s most resilient places. See you there, /Marcus, CEO Future Place Leadership

The post PLACExNordic 2026 first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

I en tid av skriande kompetensbrist och global konkurrens om kompetens blir talangattraktion en allt viktigare del i det lokala och regionala utvecklingsarbetet.

Den här kursen vänder sig till dig som arbetar med platsutveckling, näringslivsfrågor, kompetensförsörjning, HR, kommunikation, arbetsmarknadsinsatser eller innovationsmiljöer – och som vill stärka ert strategiska och praktiska arbete med att locka, välkomna och behålla talanger, både från övriga Sverige och internationellt.

Vad du får med dig:

• Kunskap om det beprövade metodpaketet Talent Attraction Management (TAM)
• Insikt i de senaste trenderna inom talangattraktion
• Verktyg för att analysera och paketera er plats unika styrkor
• Inspirerande exempel från andra kommuner, regioner och innovationsmiljöer
• Konkreta metoder för att nå ut till och engagera målgrupper – och en möjlighet att utveckla ett eget värdeerbjudande riktat till målgruppen

Kursinnehåll:

• Vad är talangattraktion och TAM – och varför är det avgörande nu?
• Talangens resa – från medvetenhet till etablering
• Samverkan mellan offentliga aktörer, näringsliv och akademi – och verktyg för att leda förändring.
• Digital synlighet och platsens varumärke
• Mottagande- och etableringsinsatser som gör skillnad, på riktigt

Kursen blandar interaktiva presentationer, erfarenhetsutbyte med kollegor från andra platser och utveckling av ett eget case som ni kan arbeta vidare med efter kursen.

Målgrupp:
Tjänstepersoner och utvecklare inom kommuner, regioner, handelskammare, klusterorganisationer, science parks, näringslivs- och marknadsbolag, akademi och andra innovationsmiljöer.

Kurstillfällen:

• 27-28 november i Stockholm
• 3-4 februari 2026 i Malmö
• 25-26 mars 2026 i Oslo

Kursen är mellan kl 10 dag ett till kl 14 dag två.

Välkommen till en inspirerande och lärorik dag där vi tillsammans stärker framtidens talangattraktion!

Anmäl dig via gröna knappen nedan.

Anmälan och avgift 

• 9 900 SEK ex. moms där fika, en lunch, gemensam middag på kvällen första dagen samt all dokumentation ingår.
• Om ni är fler från samma organisation så erbjuder vi en rabatt; 15 900 SEK för två deltagare eller 19 900 SEK för tre deltagare.
• Det går bra att anmäla personer från flera organisationer men som samarbetar kring frågorna i din kommun eller region för att ta del av mängdrabatten.

För ytterligare information

Vänligen kontakta kursansvarig:

Marcus Andersson

ma@futureplaceleadership.com

0708-67 36 34

The post Talangattraktion för kommuner, innovationsmiljöer och regioner first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

• Understand and Implement Best Practices: Learn the industry standards and best practices to effectively attract international talent.
• Expert-Led Insights: Gain actionable strategies from Morten King-Grubert and Nicole van Haelst, seasoned experts in place marketing and talent attraction.
• Interactive Sessions: Engage in sessions on collaborative attraction strategies with stakeholders, real-world case studies from across Europe, and data-driven insights on global workforce preferences.
• Study tour program to visit regional benchmarks

• Collaborative techniques with stakeholders, universities, and employers.
• Inspiration from best practices in cities from Copenhagen to Berlin.
• Tools for building a compelling value proposition.
• Strategies to plan and execute successful talent attraction campaigns.
• KPI development and monitoring frameworks.

Speakers and Sessions:

During the training and study tour we will dive into great lessons learned from the Netherlands. Yulia Hess (Amsterdam), Renate Bouwman (Arnhem-Nijmegen), Deborah Valentine (ACCESS) will have very interesting insights to share about what worked for them, and what didn’t. Zaanstad too – part of the Amsterdam Metropole region shares how they transition to a more demand driven approach to the labour market challenges. We will also go to visit the Expat Center Amsterdam with their longstanding and broad service to internationals and their focus on dual career support.

Meanwhile the best practices and methodologies from all over Europe will be the cornerstone of insights from Future Place Leadership.

• Location: Day 1: Zaanstad (25 min from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport). Day 2 (Zaanstad and Amsterdam (Study visit)
• Date: February 4-5, 2025
• Price: EUR 1375 (excl. VAT). Discounts available for multiple attendees from the same organization. Travel and lodging not included.

Program:

Tuesday February 4th

11.30 hrs: arrival at Zaanstad city hall for welcome and lunch

12.30 – 17.30 hrs: TAM training

19.00 hrs: dinner

Hotels recommended
Inntel Hotels Zaandam
Zaan Hotel Zaandam

Wednesday February 5th

08.00: Stand up Breakfast

10.00 hrs: to Amsterdam Zuid-as.

15.00 hrs: end of study visit program

About the course leaders

Nicole van Haelst

Nicole has over 15 years experience in the field of strategy development and regional collaboration to find new and innovative solutions for public and private employers to attract and recruit talent

As an expert and entrepreneur, Nicole shapes the interface between place making, talent attraction, foreign direct investment (FDI) and technology. She has a track record as a founder, setting up and scaling meaningful businesses by applying research and technology.. She adds value to any venture with her expertise in funding, strategy & business development, digital marketing and implementing change. 

As a strategic director and advisor to regional investment policies, Nicole’s influence in Talent Acquisition and Retention transcends  borders. The International Community Platform (ICP) has been the vehicle she initiated (2008) to do so. ICP is an employer driven platform to optimize the quality of life and career for global talent. She has contributed to the flourishing of The Hague and Rotterdam area as a global talent hub and worked with INSEAD to have both cities rank in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI). Driven by the fact that ‘business follows talent’, she has secured ‘talent’ as a solid pillar in foreign investment organisations. 

Nicole holds Master’s degrees in Political Science from the University of Groningen and Germanic Philology from Ghent University (cum laude).

Morten King-Grubert

After successfully leveraging a background in international business, particularly related to the globalisation and export activities of Danish enterprises, Morten’s efforts and expertise today primarily focus on the international marketing and branding of cities, regions and countries as a study and career destination for international talents.

Morten was one of the original architects behind Copenhagen Capacity’s talent attraction and retention programmes with a core focus of aligning foreign direct investments with talent attraction and retention as well as the development of all services, stakeholder engagement, funding, ambassador programmes, and marketing activities.

As a director with Future Place Leadership Morten has supported governments, regions and cities all over Europe in optimizing their talent attraction management efforts ranging from benchmark and policy recommendations to strategy, global best practices and operational activities.

He is the co-author of  the acclaimed boon: Innovating Talent Attraction and the architect behind the recently launched European Talent Mobility Forum. Morten holds a Masters Degree in International Business. Having studied, worked and lived internationally in the UK, Austria and the United States as well as expatriated to the United States in recent years, Morten has personally experienced the talent attracting and retention journey extensively and uses that experience in his professional work proactively.

• Email: mkg@futureplaceleadership.com | nvh@futureplaceleadership.com
• Phone: +1 720 602 5257 | +31 6 54 980909

The post Training Course & Study Tour: Talent Attraction for Cities, Municipalities, Regions and Governments – Amsterdam / Zaanstad Feb 4-5, 2025 first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

The interest from investors for Nordic regions and municipalities is higher than ever.

At the same time, many cities and regions in the Nordics and Europe are professionalizing their investment promotion strategies to stand out from the crowd, leading to increased competition.

We are now inviting municipalities, regions, and innovation hubs to a learning journey that focuses on long-term business establishment and investment promotion contributing to growth, innovation, and employment.

As a participant at this course, you will get:

✅ A proven methodology package – Business Attraction Management – that focuses on the entirety of economic and regional development, including marketing, the attraction process, and the establishment phase, as well as activities and strategies aimed at ensuring the continued growth, development, and success of an investment over an extended period.

✅ Common concepts and necessary tools and strategies based on real cases and best practices.

✅ Inspiring investment cases, along with trend insights into the latest industry developments.

✅ The opportunity to share experiences, tips and tools with other participants from municipalities, regions, and innovation hubs.

Focus on participants’ questions at issue, including:

✅ How do we market ourselves and our location to investors and businesses?

✅ How do we generate interest from investors and ensure that the business establishment and a “soft landing” proceed smoothly?

✅ How can we enable newly established businesses to expand, be innovative, and succeed in our location?

✅ Who are our ideal investors?

✅ How does our place brand fit into the business investment promotion strategy?

✅ How do we identify and communicate effective value propositions for our location?

✅ What are the most common pitfalls in investment promotion?

Who should participate?

We invite municipalities, regions, and innovation hubs that have ambitions to grow and develop their business sector.

The target audience includes business managers, business strategists, investment and establishment coordinators, business developers, communicators, place marketers, project managers, and others working on business development or investment at the municipal or regional level.

You are welcome to participate individually, but we encourage team participation – this is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the collaboration of the group working together on investment promotion.

Course sessions

Chose between the following dates (course held in Swedish):

• Stockholm, Sweden, 19-20 March 2025 (from 10am day one to 2pm day two)
• Stockholm, Sweden, 17-18 June 2025 (from 10am day one to 2pm day two)
• Stockholm, Sweden, 5-6 November 2025 (from 10am day one to 2pm day two)

Reach out to us if you are interested in an English language training. The training sessions are also available as a tailored session, on-site in your location, to which you can invite your stakeholders and collaboration partners.

How does it work?

The course proceeds through a combination of presentations, discussions, and workshops designed to foster interaction and learning.

The training is built on the ‘Business Attraction Management for Cities and Regions’ model (BAM). It offers participants new perspectives on long-term investment promotion, common concepts to enable collaboration between different units, and practical tools and strategies to enhance efficiency.

Figure: Business Attraction Management (BAM).

Registration and price

SEK 12,900/EUR 1135 excluding VAT, including coffee breaks, one lunch, a joint dinner on the evening of the first day, including reading material.

If there are more participants from the same organization, we offer a discount: SEK 18,900 for two participants or SEK 23,900 for three participants.

It is possible to register individuals from multiple organizations collaborating on the issues in your municipality or region to take advantage of the group discount.

What happens if the date doesn’t suit you?

If you prefer, we can come to you – for a full or half-day, with your team, on your home turf, with up to 20 participants.

About the course leaders

Fredrik Jonsson is highly experienced in regional and municipal investment and start-up promotion. During his seven years at Invest in Skåne, he worked as an investment advisor and business development manager in sectors such as cleantech, food, tech, gaming and industrial manufacturing, attracting both national and international investors to Skåne and its municipalities, often in close collaboration with municipal promoters. Before that, he worked with investment promotion and business development for the cluster organisation Cleantech Scandinavia. At Future Place Leadership, Fredrik has worked with a number of regional establishment and investment promotion projects.

Jessica Skantze has a solid background in municipal business promotion, strategy development and regional collaboration in investment and establishment promotion, competence supply, competence attraction and innovation promotion. During her six years at the business department of the City of Helsingborg, she worked with a number of initiatives in business promotion and skills supply.

At Future Place Leadership, Jessica has helped a number of municipalities and regions with process management, strategy development, regional collaboration, development of value proposition and learning about investment and establishment promotion.

Over the last 15 years, Marcus Andersson has worked with a wide range of Swedish, Nordic and European initiatives and assignments in the field of establishment and investment promotion, attractiveness of places, cluster and innovation promotion and competence attraction for places. He has helped a number of Swedish and Nordic municipalities and regions to develop strategies, action plans, market plans, analyses, training, concepts and activities for improved establishment and investment promotion. In 2016, he led the development project Business Attraction Management for Nordic Cities and Regions which together with 22 different municipalities, regions and national authorities in the Nordic region developed the methodology Business Attraction Management, which is now used by a number of organisations around the Nordic region.

For additional information,

Please contact the course organizer:

Marcus Andersson

ma@futureplaceleadership.com

+46 708 67 36 34

The post Training Course: Investment Promotion for Cities, Municipalities and Regions first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

Intresset från investerare för Sverige och svenska regioner och kommuner är högre än någonsin. Samtidigt professionaliserar många städer och regioner i Europa och Norden sitt etableringsfrämjande för att kunna utmärka sig i mängden – vilket gör att konkurrensen mellan olika platser ökar. 

Vi bjuder nu in svenska kommuner, regioner och innovationsmiljöer till en läranderesa med fokus på långsiktigt etablerings- och investeringsfrämjande som bidrar till tillväxt, innovationskraft och sysselsättning.

Det här får du som deltagare:

• Ett beprövat metodpaket – Business Attraction Management – som fokuserar på helheten kring etableringsfrämjande – varumärket, attraktionsprocessen och etableringsfasen – liksom den långsiktiga expansionen av en investering. 
• Gemensamma begrepp och de nödvändiga verktygen och strategierna som bygger på verkliga fall och best practice. 
• Aktuella och inspirerande investeringscase – och trendspaningar kring det senaste i branschen. 
• Möjligheten att dela erfarenheter, tips och grepp med andra deltagare från kommun, region eller innovationsmiljöer. 

Fokus på deltagarnas frågeställningar, bland annat:

• Hur marknadsför vi oss och vår plats för investerare och företag?
• Hur väcker vi intresse hos investerare och ser till att etablering och ”soft landing” går smidigt?
• Hur gör vi så att nyetablerade verksamheter kan expandera, är innovativa och blir framgångsrika på vår plats?
• Vilka är egentligen våra idealiska investerare?
• Hur passar vårt platsvarumärke in i etableringsfrämjandet?
• Hur formulerar vi fungerande värdeerbjudanden för vår plats?
• Vilka är de vanligaste fallgroparna inom investeringsfrämjande?

Vem bör delta?

Vi vill bjuda in alla svenska kommuner, regioner och innovationsmiljöer som har ambitioner att växa och utveckla sitt näringsliv.

Målgruppen är näringslivschefer, näringslivsstrateger, etableringsansvariga, affärsutvecklare, kommunikatörer, platsmarknadsförare och projektledare och andra som jobbar med näringslivsutveckling eller etableringar på kommunal eller regional nivå. 

Ni är välkomna att delta enskilt, men vi uppmuntrar deltagande som team – detta är  ett bra tillfälle att svetsa samman gruppen som jobbar med investeringsfrämjande.

Kurstillfällen 

Du kan välja mellan följande kurstillfällen:

• Stockholm, 14-15 april 2026 (kursen är mellan kl 10 dag ett till kl 14 dag två)

Hör av dig till oss om du är intresserad av en internationell variant av kursen, på engelska och med deltagare från olika länder. Kursen kan också ges som en skräddarsydd variant på hemmaplan hos dig, till vilken du kan bjuda in deltagare från din organisation och/eller andra samarbetspartners in din kommun eller region.

Hur går det till?

Kursupplägget består av en kombination av presentationer, diskussioner och workshoppar för att uppmuntra till interaktion och lärande.

Utbildningen utgår från “Business Attraction Management for Cities and Regions”- modellen (BAM) som ger deltagarna nya perspektiv på långsiktigt investeringsfrämjande, gemensamma begrepp för att kunna samverka mellan olika enheter, och konkreta verktyg och strategier för att bli mer effektiva.

Figur: Business Attraction Management (BAM). 

Anmälan och avgift 

• 12 900 SEK ex. moms där fika, en lunch, gemensam middag på kvällen första dagen samt all dokumentation ingår. 
• Om ni är fler från samma organisation så erbjuder vi en rabatt; 18 900 SEK för två deltagare eller 23 900 SEK för tre deltagare.
• Det går bra att anmäla personer från flera organisationer men som samarbetar kring frågorna i din kommun eller region för att ta del av mängdrabatten.

Vad händer om datumet inte passar?

Om ni föredrar så kan vi komma till er – en hel- eller halvdag, med ert team, på hemmaplan med upp till 20 deltagare.

Om kursledarna

Fredrik Jonsson har en bred och lång erfarenhet av regionalt och kommunalt investerings- och etableringsfrämjande i praktiken. Under sina sju år Invest in Skåne arbetade han i rollen som investerngsrådgivare och affärsutvecklingsansvarig inom bland annat sektorerna cleantech, livsmedel, tech, spelindustrin och industriell tillverkning, för att attrahera både nationella och internationella investerare till Skåne och dess kommuner, ofta i nära samverkan med kommunala främjare. Innan det arbetade han med investeringsfrämjande och affärsutveckling för klusterorganisationen Cleantech Scandinavia. Hos Future Place Leadership har Fredrik jobbat med en rad regional etablerings- och investeringsfrämjande projekt.

Jessica Skantze har en gedigen bakgrund inom kommunalt  näringslivsfrämjande, strategiutveckling och regional samverkan inom investerings- och etableringsfrämjande, kompetensförsörjning, kompetensattraktion och innovationsfrämjande. Under sina sex år på näringslivsavdelningen på Helsingborgs stad arbetade hon med en rad satsningar inom näringslivsfrämjande och kompetensförsörjning. Under sin tid på Future Place Leadership har Jessica hjälpt en rad kommuner och regioner med processledning, strategiutveckling, regional samverkan, utveckling av värdeerbjudande och lärande kring investerings- etableringsfrämjande.   

Marcus Andersson har under de senaste 15 åren arbetat med en stor bredd av svenska, nordiska och europeiska satsningar och uppdrag inom etablerings- och investeringsfrämjande, platsers attraktionskraft, kluster- och innovationsfrämjande och kompetensattraktion för platser. Han har hjälpt en rad svenska och nordiska kommuner och regioner att ta fram strategier, handlingsplaner, marknadsplaner, analyser, utbildningar, koncept och aktiviteter för bättre etablerings- och investeringsfrämjande. Han ledde 2016 det utvecklingsprojekt, Business Attraction Management for Nordic Cities and Regions, som tillsammans med 22 olika kommuner, regioner och nationella myndigheter i Norden tog fram metodiken Business Attraction Management, som numera används av en rad organisationer runt om i Norden.   

För ytterligare information

Vänligen kontakta kursansvarig

Marcus Andersson

ma@futureplaceleadership.com

0708-67 36 34 

The post Ny kurs: etablerings- och investeringsfrämjande för kommuner och regioner first appeared on Future Place Leadership.