System innovation for societal challenges: A strategic knowledge platform

Important results from the project

The aim of the platform was to advance our understanding of the dynamics and governance of challenge-driven transformation processes in Sweden. The goal was to develop a more comprehensive framework for transformative innovation policy (TIP) and to provide evidence-based recommendations for the design and evaluation of TIP in Sweden. The platform envisioned to become a recognised arena for cutting-edge research and practice in the field of transformative policy and to establish a forum for strategic collaborations between researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

Expected long term effects

The platform has successfully contributed to the academic debate on innovation policy through a sizeable number of publications in high-ranked academic journals. The platform was highly engaged in long-term capacity building through PhD schools, courses for practitioners and seminars at Vinnova. We also acquired further research funding on TIP from various national and international funders and have contributed to outreach activities by consulting for organizations like the OECD and EU commission.

Approach and implementation

The platform had research activities at four Swedish and one French university, all of which had several PhD and postdoc projects studying different aspects of transformative innovation policies using a diverse range of methodologies. In addition to research, the platform held several joint meetings and organized a range of events, including courses for practitioners and PhD students. Platform members also presented their research results at international conferences and were active in international policy networks.