Resarch on the Future of FM in the Nordic Countries

This paper presents the main results of a foresight study of Facilities Management (FM) in the Nordic countries of Europe – Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The purpose of the project was to identify trends and challenges in relation to the FM profession in the Nordic countries and to provide input to a common Nordic research agenda.

The project was undertaken by Centre for Facilities Management – Realdania Research (CFM) at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The project was designed by use of methods from the tradition of strategic foresight. This approach was chosen to ensure that the strategy reflects future needs and expectations among Nordic researchers and practitioners within the FM field.

The foresight process included four elements: The first element was a preliminary survey of existing studies and foresight projects on the future for FM. In particular the survey included the results of EuroFM’s FM Futures project (Alexander, 2009). A report was produced about the FM sector and its status in the Nordic countries (Jensen and Dannemand Andersen, 2010).

The second element was four national workshops in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, respectively, held between October 2010 and May 2011. The workshops were arranged through national organisations that are members of NordicFM, and the participants were invited by these national partners. The aim of the workshops was to identify, evaluate and prioritize future trends, challenges and needs for new competences and knowledge in the FM sector.

As a third element the preliminary results of the foresight project were presented and discussed at a Nordic workshop as part of a Nordic FM conference arranged by CFM at DTU in August 2011. The fourth element was a Nordic Delphi-like questionnaire with the aim of identifying and ranking the important trends and issues resulting from the three first elements of the process.