Impact Innovation: Research school for the public sector of the future

The call for proposals is carried out within the framework of the SustainGov program, which is part of Impact Innovation – an initiative of the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova.

The offer is aimed at actors from the public sector who have the skills and resources to implement transformation initiatives within the program. These are initiatives that meet the interim goals and have an impact within SustainGov's mission: to have achieved a reformed public sector by 2035 that holistically promotes and facilitates health and well-being for all residents regardless of geography and socio-economic status and ensures society's sustainability transformation within the limits of the planet. Call text about the Graduate School 2025-04-01.docx Call text about the Graduate School 2025-04-01.docx

The following offer are involved:

SustainGov's graduate school for the public sector of the future

Last application date: June 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM

The offer is aimed at universities and university colleges that, in collaboration with stakeholders from the public sector, want to establish a national transdisciplinary and co-creative research school with a mission-driven focus. The research school's objective is to analyze, reevaluate and question how the Swedish public sector works today, in order to contribute to new knowledge and skills development that ensures society's sustainability transition. The research school will also contribute to renewing academia by challenging established ways of working.

The SustainGov graduate school is intended to be implemented in three phases. This offer applies to the implementation of the first phase of the graduate school (Pilotfas A) with funding for a coordination function and at least ten full-time doctoral students (research students).

Only one project (Phase A of the Graduate School) may be granted funding within this call for proposals. The grant may amount to a maximum of SEK 52 million and 100 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

The project will be implemented during the period September 2025 – March 3031.

At least three parties must participate in the project. All parties must be Swedish universities or university colleges.

This the offer is linked to the SustainGov program, which is part of the joint effort of the Swedish Energy Agency, Forma and Vinnova. Impact Innovation.

Need for a graduate school for the public sector of the future

The public sector faces many societal challenges. The public sector's capacity for innovation and change is a large and growing interdisciplinary research field that has aroused great interest both within and outside academia. How the public sector's capacity for innovation and change can be measured, which methods work or not, and how the ability to collaborate can be developed are examples of important research areas.

For SustainGov, it is clear that new governance models, mindsets, tools and policies are needed that promote a holistic perspective, manage uncertainties, enable experimentation and focus on learning, co-creation and actual impacts of the interventions. With such a starting point, it is inevitable that there will be gaps in the knowledge base that need to be filled to make the public sector an active enabler of the sustainability transition and achieve the program's mission.

This means that many different actors need to reflect on, reassess and question how the public sector works today. However, this should be done with the greatest thought and care. Changes in the common and public are, for important reasons, something that is done slowly and vigilance is required about how and why transformation occurs. Here, scientific working methods have a clear role, both to create a deeper understanding of the current situation, identify the challenges, understand and challenge resistance, but also to experiment and develop new ways of thinking and working. This also means that academia also needs to be challenged and review its organizations, structures and forms of governance where traditional disciplinary boundaries and administrative constraints do not always support the possibilities of contributing to SustainGov's mission.

Aim with the call for proposals

The purpose of the call for proposals is to promote research through a national research school to better understand the dynamics of public sector organization, identify best practices and develop knowledge, methods and data for informed decision-making. The purpose is also to create and support a critical mass of researchers who, together with stakeholders in the public sector, can and want to conduct interdisciplinary research for the benefit of society and share results with other researchers both in Sweden and abroad. In this way, knowledge is increased to enable sustainable transition and reform the public sector through a co-creative approach driven by a common mission.

The offer to which this call for proposals refers is therefore a transdisciplinary and co-creative research school where the following coincide:

• the public sector's need for knowledge and data for well-founded decision-making,
• the ability of academia to challenge and question but at the same time deepen and ensure knowledge needs, and
• a form where academia and stakeholders together create mission-driven knowledge and challenge each other.

The graduate school should continuously reflect on the approaches and theoretical frameworks that are used and need to be developed, as well as what lessons can be learned and how this can lead to learning for research on society's sustainability transition.

The graduate school should create opportunities for new researchers (doctoral students) to be transdisciplinary, that is, to acquire skills in conducting high-quality research, on the edge of usual disciplinary and methodological drains, together with actors in the public sector. There therefore needs to be objective in the graduate school that explicitly highlights the importance of breaking norms and traditional structures in academic work. In addition, there is a need for in-depth co-creation with stakeholders around understanding needs and the development of new knowledge and reform proposals. The graduate school also needs to be constructed so that the insights into the challenges that the doctoral students face are handled, so that they dare and have the strength to work in new and innovative ways.

The graduate school is intended to be implemented in three phases (A, B and C) which are described in more detail in section 4. This offer applies to the implementation of the first phase of the graduate school (Pilotfas A) with funding for a coordination function and at least ten full-time doctoral students. Only one project, corresponding to phase A of the graduate school, may be granted funding within this call for proposals.

Requirements for graduate school

The special characteristics and conditions of the graduate school include the following:

• A broad mobilization of stakeholders that provides direct insight into problems and issues relevant to innovation and change processes in the public sector.
• Participation of stakeholders throughout the research process to enable data collection, participatory research, knowledge dissemination, implementation and follow-up in the public sector.
• The willingness and commitment of stakeholders to make room for innovative research in collaboration between public activities and academia, as well as their readiness and courage to implement change processes based on new knowledge.
• Stakeholders' commitment to opening up participatory research within existing organizations.
• Promotion of interdisciplinary approaches through the participation of several universities and university colleges and the implementation of many joint activities (doctoral courses, supervisor training, joint transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral project in the public sector).
• Openness and transparency, including the opportunity for other doctoral students and supervisors with related research areas to participate in some of the graduate school's activities (for example, courses, seminars, workshops and meetings).
• Reflection on and willingness to contribute to the relocation of universities and university colleges, including a plan to learn from the work of the graduate school.
• Commitment to continuously share lessons learned with relevant actors, both directly and via the program.

What is important in Impact Innovation?

Below are listed some points that are important for the Impact Innovation initiative as a whole.

The importance of a systems perspective and foresight

Problems with a clear solution are not in focus for Impact Innovation. The challenges of the programs are difficult to grasp, changeable over time, difficult to describe completely or visibly self-contradictory. Having a systems perspective is therefore important, that is, looking at the whole and not just the parts and the drainpipes but its interconnections. The systems perspective is a prerequisite for social impact.

In order to make the decisions required for system transformation, we need tools that can help us try to imagine what lies ahead. Foresight can prepare for possible events in the future, how to handle them and create a basis for strategic decisions. Interesting future images or future scenarios can, for example, concern changed behaviors, new business models or new services and technologies.

The importance of active participation, user involvement and policy development

In order to influence the whole of a system, actors with different perspectives and working in different sectors, industries and parts of the value chain need to be involved. The actors need to participate actively with both authority and responsibility. Not only are creators and enablers needed, but users must also be involved early on. This is to ensure that the right solutions are developed, but also to create sustainable financing models over time and governance structures for the solutions. In this way, they can be scaled up, distributed and utilized for the greatest effect in the system.

In addition, active work is required to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the solutions through policy development, for example to adapt laws and regulations. This means that it is important to involve, for example, system administrators and developers, problem owners, suppliers and users already in the formulation of the challenge.

The importance of having internationalisation as a starting point

The programs within Impact Innovation have a strong international perspective, in order to contribute to their missions and objectives. Solutions or contexts may exist internationally, or future new solutions may create international interest or competitiveness and the need to connect with international actors. The programs within Impact Innovation therefore work with an international perspective and active monitoring of the world around them.

The importance of sustainable system transformation

Impact Innovation will contribute to global competitiveness through transition to sustainable development. Through our efforts, we contribute to the global commitment to achieving the goals of Agenda 2030, where gender equality is a priority area. All efforts and project we finance are therefore assessed based on how they contribute to this perspective. We therefore always follow up and assess:

• If women and men participate in the project on an equal footing, receive contributions and have influence and power over the project.
• How well the project analyzes and takes a position on whether there are sex or gender aspects that are relevant to the project's problem formulation, solutions and effects.

Gender-equal innovation – what it means for those seeking funding from us

More information about SustainGov

The program's mission

SustainGov's mission is to achieve a reformed public sector by 2035 that holistically promotes and facilitates health and well-being for all residents regardless of geography and socio-economic status, and ensures society's sustainable transformation within the planet's boundaries.

Program explanation

The program has a ten-year horizon divided into two periods. To give SustainGov a clearer direction, a number of focus areas have been developed for the first period until 2028. These focus areas guide the work going forward within the program and in the calls for proposals for support that are aimed at various actors at local, regional, national and, in the long term, international level. Within each focus area, the systemic problems of the public sector are at the center. In this way, the conditions are created for actors to take on the task of designing and testing new working methods and solutions and to learn from each other in the direction of the mission.

SustainGov's focus areas for 2025–2028:

System-wide collaboration for complex care needs

Residents with complex care needs, which account for a large part of healthcare costs, are currently faced with fragmented systems and a lack of coordination. This creates quality deficiencies, inefficient use of resources and inequality. To meet the needs of the future, a renewed and collaborative public sector is required, where the individual's health, their own abilities and resources and long-term well-being are at the center.

An inclusive society for all

Many groups in society, such as people with functional variations, low education or those born abroad, face significant obstacles to fully participating in society. Structural problems, limited resources in municipalities and lack of coordination exacerbate exclusion. A more inclusive society requires joint efforts from the public sector that address root causes and strengthen individuals' opportunities for participation and co-creation.

Future-proof food supply for health and well-being

Sweden faces major challenges with a low level of self-sufficiency and a vulnerable food system, while climate change and unhealthy eating habits affect both the environment and public health. A future-proof food supply requires long-term and sustainable solutions that strengthen preparedness, reduce environmental impact and ensure access to nutritious and affordable food for all. Current fragmented governance and complex conflicts of objectives are challenging in this context.

The social contract of the future – renewed relationship between residents and the public sector

To address complex societal challenges, the public sector needs to redefine its own role and renew its relationship with residents, businesses and civil society in all its parts. A renewed social contract is based on the public sector enabling active interaction, around sustainable and shared solutions, together with residents and other actors in society. By actively starting from the needs of the target group, involving others in the delivery and steering on long-term effects, trust in the public sector, society's common resource, and by extension also democracy.

Read more about SustainGov on the program's website: SustainGov.

Free access to scientific publications and results

Results from research and innovation that are made freely available increase the opportunity for more people to contribute to solutions to societal challenges. This the call for proposals will contribute to making more results freely available to everyone. Therefore, all scientific publishing should be open access.

The call for proposals is aimed at actors with specialized skills or resources in areas of importance to the mission of SustainGov.

Those of you who apply together do so as project partners, where one of you acts as coordinator. A participant is actively involved in the project and shares risks and results. It is important that project partners and key individuals participate with active commitment.

Desired skills and abilities

The offer is aimed at universities and university colleges that, in collaboration with stakeholders from the public sector, want to establish a national transdisciplinary and co-creative graduate school with a mission-driven focus.

The program has defined that the following skills and abilities are important for implementing the intervention:

Project partners

• The project partners must be a consortium of at least three universities and university colleges with an operating location in Sweden.
• Participating universities and university colleges should be able to offer a good research environment with an emphasis on competent supervisors in relation to the research area.
• Participating universities and university colleges should contrast each other disciplinary-wise.

Key people

• The supervisors should represent different disciplines in aim to bridge disciplinary boundaries and give the doctoral students the best possible conditions to be able to work in a truly transdisciplinary manner.
• It is an advantage that the people who are part of the coordination function and the supervisor group have experience of transdisciplinarity and national research schools as well as collaboration with the public sector.

Collaboration with stakeholders and program offices

Applicant consortium must be able to ensure good and well-established relationships with stakeholders in the public sector, explain how the consortium's collaboration with public actors at multiple levels (municipalities, regions and state authorities) looks like and how the collaboration enables the doctoral students to carry out site-based activities with these actors (e.g. data collection, participatory research and knowledge transfer). The stakeholders should not be project parties but their commitment should be demonstrated through a Letter of Intent, see section 9.

Applicant consortium must also have a plan for mutual exchange and dialogue between the Graduate School and SustainGov's program activities.

The doctoral students

Names of the doctoral students and detailed implementation plans for the doctoral projects do not need to be included in proposal. This information should be submitted later in a supplementary report to Vinnova. See special conditions in section 8 for more information.

What activities do we want to finance?

Three phases of graduate school

The graduate school is intended to be implemented in three different phases: A, B and C. This offer only concerns funding for phase A of the graduate school. Decisions on the possible implementation of phase B and phase C will be made after a follow-up of how the work has progressed during phase A has been made. Below is a description of what is expected of phase A and briefly what is expected of phases B and C.

Phase A of the Graduate School includes the creation and operation of a coordination function and the funding of at least 10 full-time doctoral students. This pilot phase will be implemented during the period September 2025 – March 2031. It aims to create a stable foundation for the Graduate School, which will have a close dialogue with SustainGov's program activities.

The doctoral projects included in phase A can last for a maximum of five years. Vinnova funds four years of full-time studies. Costs for departmental duties are not eligible and are financed by the university or university college employing the doctoral student.

Participating stakeholders are expected to cover their own costs associated with the project.

A coordination function shall be established for the graduate school's phase A. The coordination function's tasks are to:

• be responsible for the joint activities of the graduate school and ensure that the graduate school's aim is achieved. This means having close contact with supervisors at the university or university college and following the respective doctoral projects.
• Take overall responsibility for reporting the graduate school's activities to Vinnova, the graduate school's steering committee and SustainGov's programme board.
• Maintain ongoing contact with the program office and connect the graduate school's activities with SustainGov's program activities. This can be done, for example, through workshops, presentations of the doctoral projects, and connecting activities between different initiatives and project in the program.
• organize doctoral and supervisor courses, seminars, workshops, meetings with stakeholders and facilitation of interdisciplinary sub-projects (for example, by forming teams that work together with public actors).
• arrange annual meetings for doctoral students and supervisors.
• create forums and forms for shared learning about what a transdisciplinary and co-creative graduate school means, by ensuring that the supervisory board and doctoral student groups reflect on, document and analyze their working methods.

An evaluation of the graduate school's coordination function is planned to be carried out at the end of phase A. It will focus on how the activity has been conducted and what internal and external effects it has contributed to. The evaluation will form the basis for decisions on possible continued funding of the coordination function during the period 2031–2034.

Other phases in graduate school

The research school's phase B has not yet been decided but is expected to include just over 10 part-time public administration doctoral students in the public sector. The doctoral projects are planned to run during the period 2027–2034. Proposal will be made per doctoral project via an open call call for proposals. The doctoral students must work part-time in the public sector ( municipality, region, state public authority or publicly owned company) and have approval from their employer, who must also approve the doctoral student's research activities (data collection, implementation, etc.) in the business in accordance with the project application. Public sector stakeholders should therefore be project partners in these doctoral projects.

The Doctoral School's Phase C has not been decided either, but is expected to include approximately 10 additional full-time doctoral students. The doctoral projects are planned to run during the period 2029–2034. Proposal will be made per doctoral project via an open call for proposals. These doctoral projects will also involve need-holders from the public sector.

Both phases B and C intend to expand the activities and build on the platform initiated in pilot phase A. If a decision is made to implement phases B and C, the contribution to the existing coordination function may be increased to enable the coordination of a larger number of doctoral projects during the end of phase A.

Preliminary timetable and overview of the different phases of the graduate school:

The design of the graduate school and expected results

During phase A, the graduate school will:

• is based on a recruitment strategy that seeks doctoral students with contrasting undergraduate education and possible work experience,
• contribute to all doctoral students developing an ability to question established ideas and structures with a critically reflective approach,
• have a supervisory board consisting of supervisors with contrasting disciplinary residence,
• ensure that each doctoral project reflects on a challenge with existing needs owners and stakeholders, with the fundamental approach of understanding how to create ownership and identify scope for action for public professionals,
• organize and carry out several joint group activities, such as kick-off meetings, courses, workshops and conferences,
• in collaboration with SustainGov's program office, establish a communication platform to enable an iterative analysis of research results, practical needs of the need owners and the supply of skills in demand,
• have a coordination function that ensures that the graduate school follows agreed implementation plans and enables joint learning,
• establish strong and trusting partnerships and networks between universities and university colleges and public actors in aim to create good conditions for doctoral students,
• have a steering group with representation from stakeholders and other relevant actors and in which SustainGov's program office participates.

Expected results from phase A are at least 10 doctoral theses, a variety of activities and interventions with stakeholders, ongoing competence provision and competence enhancement through the communication platform, a forum for learning about transdisciplinary and co-creative research, internal exchange forums for doctoral students and supervisors (annual meetings/workshops), supervisor efforts, participation in joint doctoral courses or supervisor courses in another location, field studies, researcher conferences, publication of research results and new knowledge and methods that can contribute to an increased capacity for sustainable transition at all levels (decision-makers, professions and residents).

Funding for Phase A

In this offer we only fund activities that are carried out as non-economic activities.

The grant can amount to a maximum of SEK 52 million and a maximum of 100 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

Preliminary budget for phases B and C

Fas B and C are estimated to have a budget of approximately SEK 50 million each. The number of doctoral students and size of budget in phases B and C may be adjusted depending on, for example, eligibility requirements for co-financing.

In order for us to take a position on and assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, proposal will be rejected immediately.

Eligibility requirements on organizational form of project parties

• All project partners must be legal entities. Natural persons or individual companies cannot participate as project partners.
• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.

Eligibility requirements for the project

• The project manager must be employed by the coordinating party in the project.
• The project may not begin before proposal is submitted.
• Costs for consulting services from outside parties may constitute a maximum of 20 percent of a project party's budget.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal must follow the instructions given in section 9.
• Proposal must contain all requested attachments.

Other formal eligibility requirements

In addition to the above general formal eligibility requirements specific formal eligibility requirements apply to this offer:

• All project partners must be universities or university colleges with an establishment in Sweden, and the activities in the project are carried out at this establishment.
• Applicant consortium must consist of at least three project parties.

What do we assess?

Your proposal will be assessed based on the criteria potential, actors and feasibility:

Potential

• To what extent does the project have potential to deliver benefit according to the current offer.
• To what extent does the graduate school contribute to innovative thinking and transdisciplinarity in relation to relevant research fields.
• To what extent the graduate school's overall issues are addressed with a relevant combination of disciplines and research fields.
• To what extent the graduate school has potential to contribute to transformative changes in the public sector and academia in the long term.
• To what extent can the graduate school contribute to the exchange of experiences, capacity building and new ways of working in line with SustainGov's mission.
• How well the project contributes to increased gender equality through the integration of relevant sex or gender aspects

Actors

• To what extent do the project partners represent a broad range of actors with the resources and capacity to implement the project.
• The extent to which relevant stakeholders are involved and committed, as well as the degree of collaboration between participating actors.
• To what extent the project manager and other key individuals have the skills and shared ability to implement the project.
• How well the project team is composed in terms of gender distribution and how well power and influence are distributed between women and men in the project team.

Feasibility

• To what extent is the proposal clear, open and designed in such a way that actors outside the project consortium can follow the progress of the project and take part in the work and results.
• To what extent is the project based on a credible project plan and budget where the activities are linked to project objectives as well as desired results and long-term effects.
• To what extent are the plans for dialogue and mutual exchange between the graduate school's coordination function and SustainGov's program activities concrete, realistic and appropriate?
• How well gender equality has been integrated into the project plan.

How do we assess?

All applications that meet the formal requirements will be assessed.

The evaluators consist of a group of Vinnova appointed experts and programme manager from Formas, the Swedish Energy Agency and Vinnova. The evaluators have experience in academia and the public sector and knowledge linked to a wide range of areas of relevance to the call for proposals.

Schematically, the decision-making process looks like this:

• Only applications that, after review, meet the formal requirements set out in Section 6 will be assessed.
• The assessments are made using the criteria set out in Section 7.
• Based on the assessors' recommendations, decisions are made about which project will be granted funding and which applications will be rejected.
• Decisions are sent to those who have applied funding and information about approved project is published on www.vinnova.se and the program's website.

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision either granting or rejecting your proposal. In the granting decision, we state how much funding each party in the project will be granted. Our decision cannot be appealed.

What happens if you are granted funding?

If we grant your proposal, you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms include, among other things:

• That you will sign a special document in which you agree to carry out the project.
• That you report your costs and results to us regularly during the project.
• That, if there are multiple parties to the project, you must agree on what applies to the project in a project agreement.
• How the results will be used, and how any scientific publication will take place.

Se Vinnovas Rules for funding and General terms and conditions multiple project parties.

You also need to follow the special conditions that apply to this the call for proposals:

• The project must be represented by at least one participant at the conferences and other activities organized within the program, approximately one to two times per year. The costs for such participation are eligible for support.
• The project shall maintain a continuous dialogue with the program office throughout the duration of the project.
• When providing information about the project and when publishing project results, it must be stated that the work was carried out within Impact Innovation-programmet SustainGov – an initiative of the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova.
• In connection with the final reporting of the project to Vinnova, a summary of the project results must be sent to the program office according to the template available at www.impactinnovation.se. The summary must be freely distributed and published on the websites of the Swedish Energy Agency, Forma, Vinnova, Impact Innovations and SustainGov. The summary must not contain confidential or otherwise sensitive information.
• A steering group for the project shall be appointed in dialogue with the programme office. Names of participants in the steering group shall be submitted in connection with the project's first progress report.
• The project will report on results and challenges to SustainGov's board of directors at least once a year throughout the duration of the project.
• Doctoral students and supervisors must interact with stakeholders, program actors and relevant external actors during the project period, including by presenting results at conferences. The costs of such interaction are eligible for support.
• The project must submit a supplementary report that contains the names of the doctoral students and an in-depth implementation plan for each doctoral student. The report must be submitted no later than August 31, 2026.
• An agreement must be drawn up between the project parties and the need owners who will participate in the doctoral projects. Vinnova does not need to see this agreement. The project must report and confirm by 31 August 2026 that the agreement has been drawn up.
• The project must submit extended status reports prior to decisions on the graduate school's phase B and phase C, respectively. The reports form the basis for both SustainGov's and the funders' decisions on the start of phase B and phase C, respectively. The project must also provide the basis for evaluation of the graduate school's activitiesupon request.

We may also decide to add additional special conditions to the approved project. Such term are stated in the decision.

Could you have to pay back funding?

If you do not follow our term, you may be required to repay the amount. This also applies if you have been granted funding incorrectly or for an amount that is too high.

When the call for proposals closes, your proposal will be registered as. We will then send an email confirmation to the person responsible for the user account, as well as the project manager and the signatory. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us.

Once the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. You can only supplement proposal if we ask you to.

Who can read your proposal?

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if requested.

However, we keep confidential information that we believe could cause financial damage if disclosed, such as information about the business, inventions or research results.

This is how we handle public documents and confidentiality.