Sitra’s Annual Report 2003 was published

Sitra’s Annual Report 2003 was published The year 2003 was the 36th in the history of the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra). During the year Sitra’s work to promote the economic welfare of the Finnish people continued. The year 2003 was an interesting and fruitful one. Many of Sitra’s major projects advanced to the breakthrough stage or were brought to conclusion. Sitra evolves its operations to accord with the changes taking place in its environment. During the year under review Sitra completed a re-organisation of its internal structure. This, it is hoped, will enable Sitra to face the challenges of the future better than ever. Operations were split into development, on the one hand, where the focus is on research and training, together with innovation and business development (ITU), and funding operations with the stress on venture-capital investment, on the other. Sitra finances its operations with the returns from its endowment capital and from its funding activities. During the year under review the net return from the und’s endowment increased tangibly compared with the preceding year but the venture-capital markets continued to remain subdued. Sitra was able to report a profit of € 1.4 million for the financial year 2003. Enquiries regarding Sitra’s Annual Report 2003: sitra@sitra.fi, tel. +358-9-618 991. The report can also be found on the Sitra website (pdf-document). Annual Report 2003