Strategic agenda for service innovation in Sweden – Joining national forces for service innovation

The significance of developing services has increased both nationally and internationally as a result of the changing structures of both business and society. Developing services has been a premise for business, both for competitiveness and for being able to meet the demands placed by the markets, customers and owners.

Innovation within services is also a unique opportunity for meeting global societal challenges, as it is based upon tailoring to the customer/market, as well as co-operations and the management of complex systems within changing environments. Within these areas, both Swedish research and entrepreneurship are international leaders.

The members of Almega and Teknikföretagen are companies from both the service and industrial sectors. These companies have a strong common interest in developing knowledge and co-operation within service innovation. There is a need to join national forces concerning service innovation by involving companies, the Academy, the public sector and research institutions. Teknikföretagen and Almega therefor have jointly taken the initiative to this agenda.

The contents of this agenda have been developed together with a reference and a strategy group consisting of member companies of Teknikföretagen and Almega, the Academy, research institutions and intermediary organizations, in order to as far as possible reflect the actual needs existing within the nation’s companies and exploit the knowledge and expertise existing within the Academy.

The joining of national forces, for example in the form of an area of strategic innovations, can contribute to developing new knowledge with respect to service innovation in co-operation with the Academy and companies, providing increased opportunities for the transfer of knowledge and expertise between different branches and with the Academy.

Sweden is in a unique position and has the potential to create an internationally competitive environment for expertise concerning the development of service offerings.

A national joining of forces can accelerate this process which we consider to be a necessity.

Ulf Lindberg, Head of Business Policy, Almega
Eva Wigren, Head of Industrial Development, Teknikföretagen