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TRAMI Missions Playbook – lessons learned from mission-oriented working methods

TRAMI Missions Playbook – lessons learned from mission-oriented working methods

Published: 30 May 2024

Vinnova is part of the European network TRAMI, which brings together innovation authorities to develop mission-oriented working methods. There is now a book with experiences and lessons learned from the network. The book is aimed at civil servants in innovation and social development. It contains concrete examples and insights from across Europe and highlights the stories behind successful initiatives. Jonathan Nylander, contact person at Vinnova, tells more.

This web page has been machine translated. If there are any uncertainties, please refer to the Swedish text.

Jonathan Nylander, nationell kontaktperson för Missions

What is TRAMI?

- TRAMI is a European network that mainly consists of innovation authorities and ministries. In the network, we have collaborated on developing mission-oriented working methods where different actors work towards common objective, with the challenge in focus. A mission-oriented way of working involves changing entire systems, which requires interdisciplinary perspectives and commitment from actors at different levels.

Vinnova is the only Swedish organization in the project, which has been going on for two years and is now ending. The network formed will continue in other forms.

What is TRAMI Missions Playbook?

- With the EU having created five missions, many countries have begun to explore how they can work with them. Vinnova and Sweden were early in doing so, but now more and more countries and organizations are choosing to experiment with mission-oriented working methods. In order for more people to be able to share these experiences, we have now produced the book TRAMI Missions Playbook. The book contains good examples from Europe and provides answers to how different actors can design programme and initiatives for mission-oriented innovation.

What sets this book apart from other mission publications is that it focuses more on stories and the people behind the stories, and how they have worked step by step to move forward in the process and to embrace new ways of working.

Who is TRAMI Missions Playbook addressing?

- It is primarily aimed at those who work at a local, regional or national level, for example as a civil servant in matters such as innovation, business development and societal challenges. You can get inspiration about how others have designed their programme and efforts from the principles on which mission is based.

What are the most common challenges with mission-oriented work?

- At I TRAMI, we had several "mutual learning events" where actors could share experiences and brainstorm ideas together. There it emerged that the four most common challenges were how the work takes place at the national and regional level, how the private sector is involved and how citizens are involved in the innovation process. The book covers good examples of these questions.

Do you want to lift something special from the work with TRAMI Missions Playbook?

- We cover four cases in the book and all of them are very exciting. The case about the AMAI! program in the region of Flanders in Belgium stood out a bit, because there the citizens are in focus. They get to help design calls for proposals about AI, choose project, and then participate in the projects. An important lesson there comes from Peter Spyns, who is a senior advisor focused on AI issues. He said "That something is relevant to industry does not mean that it is automatically relevant to society". It is an interesting example of how to get a broader perspective on innovation.

How do Swedish actors get involved in the EU's mission?

- There are many Swedish actors who are involved in the EU's mission but also work on a national level, through, for example, the programs in Impact innovation and Visionsdriven health as well as the initiative A new recipe for the food system. Some actors run their own missions such as the Social Contract. There are thus many lessons learned from how we work with missions, and I want to encourage more people to contribute their stories, because we in Sweden have a lot of experience to share with our European colleagues. We can also learn a lot from what the EU Commission and member states are doing around missions.