Utility of public sector innovation
Public sector innovation saves resources and leads to greater user satisfaction
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2024-06-05 8.00
The report Utility of public sector innovation shows that innovation in the government sector leads to positive effects, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Public workplaces that have responded to the survey reported improved quality and increased user satisfaction as the foremost effects of innovation. Also, savings of about SEK 278 million were reported as a consequence of important innovations in 2022.
A majority of public workplaces that responded to the survey Innovation in the Government Sector 2021-2022 reported that effectivization or saving was a driving factor behind their most important innovation. In total, 60 percent of public workplaces reported this as a motivation. The survey also shows that the ambition for innovation to result in effectivization or saving is often achieved. In 2022, public workplaces reported savings of about SEK 278 million from their most important innovation.
Effectivization or saving is not the only effect innovation can have. Improved quality and increased user satisfaction are the effects of innovation most commonly reported by public workplaces in 2021-2022. About 72 percent of workplaces reported that their innovations lead to improved quality and increased user satisfaction respectively. The corresponding share for effectivization or saving was about 52 percent.
Definitions and explanations
The survey Innovation in the Government Sector for the references period 2021-2022 was conducted by Statistics Sweden by commission from Vinnova and in collaboration with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The survey measures both systematic innovation work at the organisational level and innovation activities at the level of municipal, regional and government agency workplaces. Participation has been voluntary, and the response rate is low. Therefore, the results presented in the report are not representative of the whole government sector but only describe conditions in those organisations and workplaces that have responded to the survey.
A more detailed description of the nature and effects of non-response in the statistics is found in the report Study of non-response Innovation in the Government sector 2021-2022. Documentation on quality and methodology are also available on the product webpage: www.scb.se/uf0319-en.
Publication
Read more in the report Utility of public sector innovation (pdf)
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.