Innovation and Innovation Policy in Sweden
Innovation and Innovation Policy in Sweden 
Overview of Innovation Policy
With the highest innovation performance of all compared countries within the European Innovation Scoreboard, the Swedish national innovation system shows clear strengths in several areas. A stable macroeconomic environment, a well educated workforce, a handful of R&D-intensive multinational corporations, ambitious public investment in activities related to innovation and state of the art scientific performance form together the basis for innovation activities in Sweden. These strengths are reinforced by Sweden’s integration into global markets.
Despite the strengths, several weaknesses exist. Extensive decreases in activities among the dominating industrial groups combined with low levels of investments in the business community and an inability to achieve effective job creation, has put pressure on the Swedish innovation system. In recent time a decreasing rate of business R&D spending and a termination of the Swedish model for public private partnership has accelerated these weaknesses.
In Sweden, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications handle issues affecting innovation. The general visions for the national innovation policy in Sweden are stated in the strategy “Innovative Sweden”. The strategy is an attempt to achieve growth through renewal and is geared towards: the creation of a knowledge base for innovation, development of an innovative trade and industry, the use of innovative public investments and the promotion of innovative people. The strategy is implemented by several decentralized and agency based measures.
Much of the recent innovation action at the national level are focused on strategic programmes for key industries, a better structure for seed financing, focused R&D investments in engineering, life sciences and natural sciences combined with measures to strengthen the industrial institutes and innovation activities in SMEs.
| Annual Country Reports |
 Country report 2009 for Sweden
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| Country report 2008 for Sweden
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| Country report 2007 for Sweden
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| Country Report 2006 for Sweden
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| Country Report 2005 for Sweden
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| Country Report Sweden September 2004
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| Sweden - Trend Chart Country Report, September 2003
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| Sweden - Trend Chart Country Report, March 2003
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| Sweden - Trend Chart Country Report, October 2002
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| Sweden - Trend Chart Theme-specific Country Report, May 2002
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| Sweden - Trend Chart Country Report, November 2001
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| Sweden Trend Chart Country report June 2001
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| Sweden Trend Chart Country Report Dec 2000
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| Sweden Trend Chart Country Report June 2000
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| Latest TrendChart Deliverables |
| Innovative procurement practices supporting innovation – findings of the OMC-PTP project |
| Workshop Briefing Sweden 13_2006 |
| Workshop Briefing Sweden 11_2006 |
| TAFTIE |
| Workshop Briefing Sweden 10_2006 |
| New Support Measures |
 SE 89 Research profiles |
| SE 121 Vehicle and traffic safety |
| SE 123 National Aeronautical Research Program |
| SE 61 Cluster Programme |
| SE 117 Innovation financing |
Who Is Who
Senior Official(s) for Sweden
Michael Jacob
Correspondents for Sweden
Lennart Elg
Ann Liljeberg
Patrik Sandgren
Search Who's Who
Innovation Performance
Performance in Innovation Scoreboard 2008Find Out More
List of relevant websites
