Together with 15 other institutions and organizations, House of Governance and Public Policy (GaPP) have been entrusted with leading the next generation of Swedish strategic innovation program. Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency have agreed to fund SustainGov - with the aim to tackle the public sector's main challenges in terms of meeting citizens’ needs in a economic, social and ecological more sustainable way. 

The decision means that the SustainGov program is granted around 11 million SEK in government funding per year for the operation of the program. Additional funds will be added in the form of co-financing from participating actors. 

"We are thrilled that GaPP at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) are among the organizations trusted to lead one of the innovation programs that will take Sweden into the 2030s and contribute to a more sustainable and competitive public sector. It shows that we and our partners have been able to present a program with the potential to accelerate the transition to a more ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable society by upgrading governance and policy processes in the public sector. This is a historic decision", says professor Karl Wennberg, scientific director at SSE's GaPP.

The decision today means that five strategic innovation programs will be launched during the first quarter of 2024. The innovation programs must be directed at one or more overarching societal challenges and require cooperation between a broad constellation of actors. Behind Impact innovation are Vinnova, Formas and the Energy Agency.

"We are moving towards a new era where the public sector unleashes its potential as a powerful enabler of society's transition to sustainability. In order to manage today's complex societal challenges, new governance models, mindsets, tools and policies are required that promote a holistic perspective, manage uncertainties, enable co-creation and learning within and between public actors, private and non-profit sectors. Here, SustainGov will provide a platform and support in the public sector's transformation from doing things right to doing the right things. The sector's own involvement in the operation of the program is a guarantor that its reformation into the best version of itself takes place in a democratic, legal and effective way", says Mariell Juhlin, program manager.

Mid Sweden University is the coordinator for SustainGov, which also involves multiple other institutions, including SSE.