Introduction

In this book about research on Facilities Management (FM) leading researchers from the Nordic countries present their ideas and findings:
• Past: The historical development and current trends in FM research in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
• Present: Ongoing FM research within the following six themes: Working Environments, Sustainability, Innovation and Usability, Partnerships, Knowledge Implementation, and Added Value.
• Future: Identification of future trends, challenges and research agendas for Nordic FM.
The book is a result of a Nordic FM Conference arranged by the Centre for Facilities Management – Realdania Research (CFM) on 22-23 August 2011 at the Technical University of Denmark. The title of the conference was: “Research for Practice – Vision of Futures”. The conference was arranged in collaboration with NordicFM and DFM – the Danish Facilities Management Association. There were 82 participants from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
The book is targeted towards researchers, reflective practitioners, teachers and students at advanced levels, including PhD-students, in the field of FM. It is mostly based on papers from the conference with revisions and in a graphical attractive layout. It also includes results of CFM’s FM Futures project. The main purpose of this project was to create input to a joint Nordic FM research agenda. Thus, the overriding purpose of the conference, the FM Futures project and this book is to support increased Nordic collaboration on FM research among researchers and with practitioners.