Agencies, it’s Time to Innovate! : Exploring the current understanding of the Swedish government’s call for innovation

• PurposeInnovation is currently at the top of many agendas worldwide: not only in the private sector, but also when it comes to increasing quality, efficiency, and effectiveness in public administration. InSweden, this is reflected in the recent call from the Government for innovation in public management. However, innovation has not traditionally occurred to any significant extent on the strategic level of Swedish public management. Furthermore, governmental administration is a complex system in need of coordination and alignment for this new call to be effectively realized in practice.   The purpose of this paper is hence to explore the phenomenon of innovation in the current Swedish governmental administration system. More specifically, the paper explores the current understanding within the system of what innovation is, as well as why and how it should be achieved. Methodology/approach This study has been based on a qualitative approach with a case consisting of three embedded units: the Government itself, a ministry and a government agency. The data have been collected from documents and interviews. Findings The study shows that there is currently a notable disparity when it comes to how aspects of innovation are understood at different levels within the Swedish governmental administration system. Furthermore, the recent business development to increase the standardization of work processes is perceived as having created poorer preconditions for working with innovations. Practical implicationsThe results highlight critical areas of disparity and possibilities for improvement towards a shared understanding and aligned innovation actions within the system. Originality/valueThe articlecontributes knowledgeabout the current understanding of innovation in the Swedish governmental administration system.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Annan teknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Other Engineering and Technologies (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Innovation; quality management; government agencies; public administration

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)