Public documents and confidentiality

What are public documents?

All documents received by a public authority or prepared and stored there are public documents. At Vinnova, these may include reports, applications, decisions or tenders in public procurement. Documents that have been created for the preparation of a case, such as memos, drafts or internal working documents, do not constitute public documents.

All public documents can be requested. However, the fact that a document is public does not mean that all the information in it is public.

Why do we release documents?

We are obliged under the principle of public access to disclose public documents if someone requests it. You can find more information about the principle of public access on the Government Offices website.

How to request public documents

Would you like to access a public document? Then you can contact our registry. Write Request for public document in the subject line.

Send email to our registry

Fee for the release of public documents

A request to access a public document must be made in writing or orally.

There is a right to access public documents free of charge through on-site visits to Vinnova. Government agencies do not have to pay a fee.

When public documents are released, a fee may be charged.

Fee for copies in electronic form

Authorities have no obligation to release public documents in electronic form, but this is most common at Vinnova. Fee:

• The first nine files are free.
• The tenth file costs 125 SEK.
• If the request includes more than ten files, the remaining files cost 5 SEK per file.

Fee for paper copies

Exceptionally, Vinnova chooses to release public documents in paper form even if electronic form has been requested. Fee:

• The first nine pages are free.
• The tenth page costs 50 SEK.
• If the request includes more than ten pages, the remaining pages cost 2 SEK per page.
• Postage costs will be added, or the documents can be collected from Vinnova.

Compilations of information from public documents

In order for a compilation of data to be considered stored by the authority, and to be able to request its release, the authority must be able to make the compilation available electronically using routine measures. Routine measures mean a limited effort without significant costs.

When requesting the release of compilations of information from public documents that do not require more than four hours of work, a fee is charged based on whether the release is made electronically or in paper form, as above.

Decision on fee

If someone believes that the fee charged by a public authority is incorrect, they can, within 30 days of the date on which the fee was paid, request a special written decision from the authority regarding the fee. Such a special decision may be appealed to the Swedish Tax Agency. The Swedish Tax Agency's decision may not be appealed. However, a decision not to disclose information from a public document is not appealable.

Confidentiality of the documents we release

The Public Access and Confidentiality Act (2009:400) regulates which information should be public and which information should be classified as confidential in a public document. Which information is covered by confidentiality is examined every time someone requests a document.

We keep this confidential

We are obliged to keep confidential information about an individual's business or operating conditions, inventions or research results if it is assumed that it will cause financial damage to an individual party if the information is disclosed.

What are business and operating conditions?

This may include, for example, the use of property or services, operating guidelines, market research, market planning, negotiations and other business events, information about budgets and salaries, and other information in an individual's activities.

The Public Access and Secrecy Act on the Government Offices' legal databases