معرفی
Maria Tønnessen Frivold is a PhD Research Fellow at the Department of Working Life and Innovation, University of Agder (UiA), where she is researching the transformation of innovation systems to address grand societal challenges. She is affiliated with the Research Centre for Studies of Innovation for Sustainable Transition (RIST) and is a member of NORSI, the Nordic Research School in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Her research interests lie in regional innovation, economic geography, and regional industrial development. She explores why some regions outperform others industrially, focusing on regional asset utilization and modification. Her work contributes to understanding economic resilience, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, and advocates for sustainable industrial restructuring through digitalization and innovation.
The trends in her publications indicate a strong focus on regional economic dynamics, with a particular emphasis on how local resources can be reconfigured to foster development in specialized industrial regions. Her studies combine theoretical insights from institutional economics with empirical analysis of Norwegian regional cases.
She has taught in the master’s program in innovation and knowledge development, delivering courses on co-creation in the public sector and institutional economics. Her professional background includes business development at Agder Energi and strategy and project management roles during her traineeship at Grimstad Municipality and the University of Agder.
Labs and Research Groups:
- RIST – Research Centre for Studies of Innovation for Sustainable Transition
- Member of the research project: Regional Resilience and Sustainable Industrial Restructuring
- NORSI – Nordic Research School in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
