Investigation of the innovation capability in Swedish authorities

Important results from the project

The ambition of the project was to increase the knowledge in authorities about how they can develop their ability to innovate and in the longer term contribute to strengthening their ability to take on complex societal challenges. A survey was conducted that was answered by 102 authorities and supplemented with interviews. Results and conclusions from the project have contributed to a strengthened knowledge and understanding of how you as a government agency can lead and organize your innovation work.

Expected long term effects

The results from the study show that there are large differences between authorities when it comes to how well they succeed with innovation. The strongest success indicators are linked to a number of factors related to leadership, organisation and collaboration. With support of the framework developed in the project, authorities can make their own assessment and identify what areas to improve in order to strengthen their innovation ability. In the longer term, the result is expected to contribute to a strengthened ability in Swedish authorities to address complex societal challenges

Approach and implementation

The project has been carried out by consultants at Implement Consulting Group and researchers at KTH, Sweden. The study includes 102 Swedish authorities and the questionnaire used is based on research, the ISO standard for innovation management and proven experience. Furthermore, the authorities that are judged by the other authorities to be the most innovative have been interviewed. The project´s approach together with the project team´s experience of working with innovation in authorities is judged to have contributed to a result that is both solid and practically useful.