Norwegian State Budget 2027

Norway Health Tech has summarized some of the key points in the 2027 State Budget, based on our understanding of the proposals:

• The Health Technology Scheme will no longer continue as a standalone program. Its funding will be incorporated into a new restructuring grant for municipalities amounting to NOK 681.7 million. This does not establish a clear mechanism for moving solutions from pilot projects to routine use, and the key question is whether it will actually accelerate the adoption of health technology in municipalities.
• The government will continue its investment in a digital frontline service based on artificial intelligence, aimed at providing citizens with quality-assured answers about symptoms, health concerns, and test results.
• Investments in health data and research infrastructure will continue. NORTRE will be strengthened to meet the requirements of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), and further investments will be made in life sciences, biotechnology, and neurotechnology.
• The government will continue allocating NOK 4 million to an accelerator programme for the health industry through Innovation Norway.
• The State Budget continues the general export initiative through Business Norway, with an allocation of NOK 395.1 million to support trade and internationalisation. However, it does not reverse the previously announced cuts to the health export initiative adopted in the 2026 budget. All five strategic export initiatives established under the export reform “All of Norway Exports” are being phased out and effectively discontinued.

• The government is cutting approximately NOK 300 million from the business-oriented support system. Much of the reduction affects programmes administered by Innovation Norway. Grants for entrepreneurs and businesses will be reduced by NOK 40 million.
• The government is proposing several restrictions to the SkatteFUNN tax incentive scheme. The guarantee deadline will be removed, and a common deduction ceiling will be introduced for corporate groups. These changes largely mirror the proposal issued for consultation by the Ministry of Finance before the summer.
• The Design-Driven Innovation Programme (DIP) is proposed for closure. At the same time, the Environmental Technology Scheme will be discontinued, FORREGION is proposed to be phased out, and Green Platform will not issue a new call for proposals in 2027.
• The Supplier Development Programme will continue, with funding increased slightly from NOK 5.4 million in 2026 to NOK 5.6 million in 2027.
• The government proposes NOK 191.7 billion for the defence sector and an additional NOK 516 million for a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening Norwegian defence industry production capacity.
• Investinor will receive greater flexibility to reinvest capital and could over time release around NOK 1 billion for new investments in growth companies. However, no new capital allocations are proposed in the State Budget.
• The government’s budget proposal includes some minor adjustments to income tax and the wealth tax threshold, but no changes that would make the tax system significantly more innovation-friendly.

• The cluster programme will continue, but without any substantial increase in funding or impact for mature clusters. At the same time, discussions are underway in the EU that could allow mature clusters to receive operational support for a longer period than is currently permitted. If implemented in Norway, this could have implications for established clusters such as Norway Health Tech.

In summary: The State Budget contains several signals that technology is expected to play a key role in addressing challenges in the health and care services. At the same time, a number of the instruments that help companies develop, finance, export, and scale their solutions are being weakened.