Management for innovation in critical intervention services

Purpose and goal

We have fulfilled our main purpose with the project, namely to develop the conditions for sustainable service innovation in urgent support to children jointly with a municipality, and spread results from the project. Employees, managers and politicians have increased their knowledge of success and risk factors for innovation work in public sector welfare services. Through work with a model based on a service logic, they have also increased their knowledge of alternative ways to organise their service activities for support of children based on the child’s own needs.

Expected results and effects

The study shows that for sustainable innovation and horizontal integration to take place, discussions and proposals for new ways of organising urgent welfare services for vulnerable children need to take place within ordinary meeting and decision-making structures as a consciously designed process. The project has contributed to increased awareness of challenges in existing management structures and processes and challenged received perspectives and routines. Academic and public presentations and texts mediate project results to municipalities, researchers and students.

Planned approach and implementation

The project has been undertaken with an interactive research approach. The researchers met employees, managers, members of a headmaster group and management groups and with them discussed what is needed for innovation work to become visible and integrated in the management structure across organisational levels and units. Methods that we have used in the project are workshops, focus group interviews, personal interviews and a questionnaire. We have also contributed to and been responsible for specific training days for employees.