The CBDS programme

The CBDS Programme is established by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) to strengthen the Nordic and Baltic region as a cohesive and integrated digital region. The initiative follows up on the ministerial declaration "Digital North 2.0" and the NCM's Vision 2030 and supports the vision of the Nordic and Baltic region becoming the most sustainable and integrated region in the world.  The programme is owned by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Digitalisation (MR/HNG Digital), and governed by an appointed Programme Committee consisting of national representatives from each member state. The CBDS Programme is a comprehensive, cross-sectoral and strategic initiative involving a number of focus areas and projects. A CBDS Secretariat has also been established to support the work of the Programme Committee and the projects.

Read more about the Digital North 2.0 declaration
Read more about Vision 2030

Structure

At an operational level, the CBDS Programme consists of three focus areas:

  1. Building a secure eID that works across countries
  2. Data sharing in the public sector across national borders
  3. The development of digital services between countries.

The Programme also administers a cross-sectoral fund that supports new projects and initiatives. Each priority area is complemented by one or more projects. The projects follow a country-lead model and constitute one of the programme's most important instruments in ensuring concrete results. For its part, the Secretariat coordinates processes and dialogue across the programme's owners, steering group and projects. In addition, the Secretariat has been assigned responsibility for the implementation and follow-up of the Programme's fund, the Open Funding Mechanism (OFM).

FAQ

The CBDS programme was launched in 2020 as a strategic initiative by the Nordic Council of Minister (NCM)

The CBDS Committee consists of representatives from each of the Nordic-Baltic member states. The CBDS Committee manages the Programme and has the overall responsibility for ensuring tangible results, project monitoring and alignment with EU and national policies. The Programme Committee currently consists of:

The CBDS Secretariat was formally established at the beginning of 2021, when an agreement was signed between the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) and the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency (Digdir) to manage the Secretariat until 2024. During this period, the CBDS Secretariat will ensure coordination between the projects in the programme, identify synergies, prepare roadmaps and status reports, organise programme committee meetings, as well as ongoing administrative tasks. In accordance with its support functions, the secretariat is also responsible for communication about the programme. The secretariat shall have a neutral role in its work for the Programme's member countries.

The CBDS programme's work focuses on cross-border digitalisation in the Nordic-Baltic region. Three life events are prioritised by the CBDS Programme. These are:

  1. Studying abroad
  2. Working abroad
  3. Doing business abroad