Do not miss the chance of registering to PLACExNordic with an Early Bird Discount.
Use the code: EarlyBird30  at checkout to receive the discount. Available until Nov 30. 

About PLACExNordic

PlacexNordic is Northern Europe’s meeting place for everyone working with place attractiveness – whether it’s about attracting talent, investment, visitors, or creating thriving communities for the people already living there.

Each year, we bring together city leaders, regional developers, policymakers, researchers, and business innovators to explore and test new ideas to find out what makes places resilient, competitive, and livable.

Next years theme is:

The conference will be held in Skellefteå, Sweden, 2-3 July 2026.  Few places in Europe have recently been as close to the frontline of transformation as Skellefteå, this Northern town have been through an extraordinary journey. The last couple of years Skellefteå have been through attracting one of Europe’s largest green industrial investments, to facing the shock of its collapse, and now guiding the city into its next chapter.
Skellefteå arrange  Society Expo 2026  (SE26) which is a perfect match for PLACExNordic as we are partnering up to offer you a greater value. 27 May- 9 June, 2026 Skellefteå is an international meeting place where the world gathers to explore the future of sustainable societies, innovation, and collaboration. The event will showcase pioneering ideas, groundbreaking projects, and practical solutions that address the global challenges of our time – from green energy and digitalization to inclusion and cultural transformation.

​PlacexNordic is a product of Future Place Leadership AB  a data-led agency that empowers places, cities, regions and countries, to attract and develop people and business.

Most welcome to join us at PLACExNordic 2026!

REGISTER HERE

Contact

The post Early Bird for PlacexNordic 2026 first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

The 2 most prominent ones are:

Swedish Talent Attraction Forum (STAF) is a professional network created for public sector employees working with talent attraction, reception, and integration across Sweden.

European Talent Mobility Forum (ETMF) Is a professional network amongst leading practitioners across Europe dedicated to go above and beyond in supporting companies and talents within international mobility.  Read more here.

About STAF

Launched in 2023 with an initial group of 35 participants, the network was founded to address the need for experience sharing and the exchange of best practices among peers across the country. By October 2024, as the network celebrated its one-year anniversary, membership had grown to 80 professionals, representing nearly 30 organizations. These include regions, municipalities, and welcome centers for international newcomers.

With members from all over Sweden, the forum offers a platform for discussing common challenges, sharing experiences, and driving collaborative efforts to influence policies and practices in talent attraction. By pooling knowledge and resources, STAF members can work more effectively to strengthen Sweden’s ability to attract and retain talent.

Collaboration is at the heart of STAF. To make a meaningful impact, it’s essential to learn from each other, avoid reinventing the wheel, and focus on building synergies. Together, we can enhance Sweden’s talent attraction and retention strategies.

The network meets twice a year for in-person discussions and workshops. Additionally, several shorter digital meetings are held throughout the year, featuring guest speakers who provide insights on current, relevant topics. What’s unique about STAF is that its members set the annual agenda, ensuring that the network addresses the most pressing issues and opportunities.

List of current members: Invest in Skåne, Lund International Citizen Hub , Malmö stad, Helsingborg stad, Media Evolution, Move to Gothenburg, Business region Örebro, Luleå kommun, Boden kommen, Boden Business park, Stockholm Business Region, Sundsvallregionen, Talangattraktion Höga Kusten, Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Region Gävleborg, Gateway Umeå, Umeå kommun, Region Västerbotten, Skövde kommun, Livet i Skaraborg, Business Region Värmland, Invest in Halland, Boråsregionen, Jönköpings kommun, Nacka kommun, Skellefteå kommun and International Hub Uppsala.

Are you interested in learning more about STAF, please contact Camilla Westman at cw@futureplaceleadership.com or Jessica Skantze at js@futureplaceleadership.com.

The post Do you know the Future Place Leadership networks? first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

Programmet erbjuder en unik möjlighet att tillsammans med kollegor från olika delar av Sverige utforska lösningar och nya arbetssätt för att hantera de gemensamma utmaningarna i talangattraktion. Oavsett om du representerar en mindre stad i söder eller en större region i norr, är detta en arena för erfarenhetsutbyte, inspiration och insikter. Du får tillgång till verktyg och metoder för att ta itu med de problem som är mest aktuella för just din organisation.

Vi använder oss av den välbeprövade metoden Design Thinking för att systematiskt utforska och utveckla lösningar på komplexa utmaningar. Programmet är indelat i fyra interaktiva workshoptillfällen där deltagarna arbetar både i sina egna grupper och i blandade team. Tillsammans definierar vi våra utmaningar och utforskar kreativa lösningar. Varje deltagande grupp får pitcha en lösning på en specifik utmaning under den sista workshopen, en lösning som formats och förfinats under programmets gång.

För att säkerställa att idéerna får praktisk förankring får varje grupp även fyra individuella coachningstillfällen. Syftet med dessa är att stötta deltagarna i att vidareutveckla sina lösningar så att de kan implementeras i den egna verksamheten. Programmet inkluderar också inspirationsföreläsningar med gästtalare som ligger i framkant inom sina respektive områden.

Under de senaste åren har vi haft förmånen att samarbeta med över 100 deltagare från städer, kommuner och regioner både i Sverige och Europa. Bland tidigare deltagare finns representanter från bland annat Stockholm Business Region, Skellefteå kommun, Malmö stad, Nacka kommun, Region Jämtland Härjedalen, samt Luleå och Bodens kommun som valt att delta tillsammans.

”Co-create programmet var givande på flera sätt för oss på Omvärld och näringsliv. Programmet blev en möjlighet att fördjupa oss i ämnet med kollegor som direkt eller indirekt jobbar med till talangattraktion. I denna process kunde vi hitta ett gemensamt språk kring frågan och en slags grundkunskap som kan spridas på avdelningen. Vi upplevde också stor nytta av den mängd goda exempel från runtom i landet och internationellt som presenterades.”

Henrik Nilsson, Näringslivsutvecklare, Omvärld och näringsliv, Malmö stad

“För oss var co-create programmet otroligt värdefullt, att vi som team och tillsammans med andra branschkollegor som arbetar med kompetensattraktion delat erfarenheter och utvecklat våra kunskaper. Extra kul att tillsammans angripa våra utmaningar och skapa nya lösningar”

Jenny Johansson, Head of Marketing, Business Region Örebro

”Co-Create gav oss svaret på den svåra frågan om metod och process kring talangattraktion för Gotland. Programmet skapade också nya insikter och möjligheter att samverka både internt i vår egen organisation och med andra kommuner och regioner. Vi kommer ha mycket nytta av TAM-modellen även i andra sammanhang.”

Mimmi Gibson, Biträdande enhetschef, Hållbar Tillväxt, Regional Utveckling, Region Gotland

Programmet startar i slutet av januari 2025 och pågår till maj, med fyra intensiva och inspirerande workshopträffar. Genom att delta får du en unik möjlighet att utveckla dina kunskaper och förmågor inom talangattraktion, samtidigt som du blir en del av ett växande nätverk av yrkesverksamma från hela Sverige som arbetar med samma utmaningar.

Vill du ha mer information om programmet, klicka på denna länk för att anmäla intresse så återkommer vi till dig med mer information.

The post Co-creating the future of talent attraction – Start i januari 2025 first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

Läs mer och anmäl dig här!

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 och trenderna inom investeringsfrämjande?

Vem bör delta?

Målgruppen är näringslivschefer, näringslivsstrateger, etableringsansvariga, affärsutvecklare, kommunikatörer, platsmarknadsförare och projektledare och andra som jobbar med näringslivsutveckling eller etableringar på kommunal eller regional nivå – eller inom en innovationsmiljö/kluster.

Du kan välja mellan följande kurstillfällen:

• Helsingborg, Sweden, 29-30 januari 2025
• Stockholm, Sweden, 19-20 mars 2025

In English with an international POV:

• Oslo, Norway, 22-23 January 2025

Läs mer och anmäl dig här!

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

During Summer and Autumn 2023 we have been leading five regional investment promotion projects both in Sweden and Finland. Common patterns keep on emerging across different regions, and the amassed insights help us to help cities, regions and municipalities better with their Investment Promotion endeavors.

The usual suspects

One of the usual suspect lessons learned is that local and regional investment promotion work is heavily dependent on backing from the political level. It is the only way to fully succeed in making the changes promised to investors. The place value proposition is more than a business opportunity, or innovation hotspot of interest to the investor.

Investors also consider factors such as the availability of talent, housing, infrastructure, and energy prices in their decision-making process. Another lesson learned is that for a region to be attractive to investors, each municipality in a region needs to do its homework in terms of understanding and packaging their local value proposition, make land available and be ready to meet the prospective investor when they come for a site visit.

The cases

1. In May, we kicked off the work to help Region Västmanland explore if and how a regional platform for investment promotion can be set up. The feasibility study focuses on understanding needs, challenges and opportunities in the region, as well as a benchmark with other regions in order to understand what organizational model could fit the region the best. We will be also conducting a quantitative and qualitative study of regional strongholds, including strategy workshops with key stakeholders in the region. The feasibility study will be delivered in January 2024.

2. In June we completed a yearlong strategy process for Region Kalmar. The focus has been to help the region and municipalities to create a regional investment promotion platform. The first steps of the new platforms have now been taken, which include signing a cooperation agreement with the national investment promotion agency (IPA), Business Sweden.

3. In September, we kicked off an extensive strategy process with the newly created regional IPA Business Region Värmland, with a view to improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of the region. The process comprises four parallel tracks: 1) Training and inspiration for especially municipal investment promoters, 2) Interviews and workshops with stakeholders to create new strategy and action plan, 3) Workshops and coaching to create local and regional value propositions for investors and 4) Support for the creation of an operational plan for 2024. The process will be finanlised in April 2024.

4. Early October we will deliver an action plan for the regional investment promotion platform Business Region MidSweden in the region of Jämtland Härjedalen. The action plan is aimed at strengthening the collaboration between the regional government, the municipalities and other key stakeholders in the region.

5. By mid-October we will deliver two training and inspiration workshops to the Finnish cities of Mikkeli and Savolinna. The aim is to help the cities take their investment promotion work to the next level.

Any questions, or something we can help you with? Read more here on our Investment Promotion services or get in touch with Marcus!

More on the topic

Find our free handbooks & white papers on Investment Promotion in our handbook library!

The post Improving Regional Investment Promotion Efforts – 5 Cases Across Sweden and Finland first appeared on Future Place Leadership.

Are you an international master/PhD student or professional working in tech, science or as an engineer? Please share your experience as an international when it comes to settling in, living and working abroad by taking this 12 minute survey

Are you a company representative who is currently recruiting international talent, or ready to do so? Please share your experience on what challenges you encounter when it comes to attracting, receiving and retaining international talent, including what kind of support you believe would facilitate the whole process. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Take it here!

The global competition on highly skilled talent is levelling up every year, and many companies and organisations feel that they can’t fill vacant positions, which inhibits growth. Many of the highly skilled international master and PhD students intend to stay in their country of studies after graduation, but only a minority do so which is a lost opportunity for the host country.

With this European benchmark study we want to gather data and information on different markets in order to develop comparable insights on the satisfaction level of the target group – Master students, PhD’s and highly skilled workers.

The study will include ranking of decision-making factors, main reasons for arriving to and staying in a country to pursue career opportunities. The study will also explore challenges for employers when it comes to attracting, receiving and retaining international talents.

We are launching two surveys, one for talents working or studying abroad, and one for companies who are hiring international talents, or interested in doing so. The benchmark study will compare insights from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Scotland, The Basque Region and Spain.

The partners

The benchmark study is a collaboration between European Talent Mobility Forum, Future Place Leadership, Switch to Sweden via Linköping Science Park, Move to Gothenburg, Berlin Partners, Bizkaia Talent, Brainport Development, Business Finland, Copenhagen Capacity, Oslo Region Alliance and Scottish Enterprise, funded by Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any thoughts or questions regarding the study, or if you want to sign up for the email list to get access to the end result data with key insights.

Morten King-Grubert

E-mail:mkg@futureplaceleadership.com

The post Launching International Talent Map Benchmark Study first appeared on Future Place Leadership.