20 February 2024

Expert group submits its recommendations to the government

Recommendations to the government

19 February, the Expert Group for the Future of Business Support (Danish: Ekspertgruppen for fremtidens erhvervsstøtte) presents its report for the group's first phase, which includes recommendations on principles for the future of business support and recommendations for restructuring business support.

Decorative

The Expert Group was originally set up in 2022 with the aim of raising DKK 3.5 billion for investment in education, research and green transition, as well as tax relief. However, in connection with the change of government, the group's tasks were adjusted and the amount was reduced from DKK 3.5 billion to DKK 2 billion. At the same time the work on the recommendations was divided into two phases.

Three over arching tasks

The tasks of the expert group were to:

  • Prepare a mapping of business subsidies.
  • Recommend socio-economic principles for future business subsidies.
  • Recommend a prioritisation of business subsidies that will enable the government to restructure current business subsidy schemes by DKK 2.3 billion per year.

The Expert Group has developed three overarching principles for business support programmes: The Principles of A) Relevance, B) Design and C) Management of Business Support Programmes. Together, the principles form an analytical framework for evaluating business support schemes.

Each of the country's 200 business support schemes has been carefully assessed, but no quantitative socio-economic cost-benefit analysis has been carried out.

According to the expert group, some of the money in the schemes goes to Danish companies, but not to initiatives that benefit society as a whole. Rather, certain industries are given special advantages. Therefore, the Expert Group states in the report that 58 of the current 200 business programmes would benefit from being dismantled or partially dismantled.

"The Future of Business Support: Mapping, Principles and Reorganisation" is the first report from the Expert Group on the Future of Business Support.

The expert group behind this report and its recommendations consists of:

  • Christian Frigast (Chairman), Chairman of the Board of Axcel and Aktive Ejere, among others
  • Niels Johannesen, Professor of Economics and Business, Oxford University and CEBI, University of Copenhagen
  • Jeppe Druedahl, Associate Professor of Economics, CEBI, University of Copenhagen
  • Lise Kaae, CEO of Heartland

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