Addressing complex societal challenges—such as poor health, unemployment, segregation, and climate change—in innovative ways often requires collaboration among various societal actors and sectors. The complexity of these societal challenges means that they can take a long time to resolve, creating a need for long-term forms of collaboration that go beyond time-limited projects. This is particularly true at the regional level—that is, geographical areas that extend across municipal boundaries but do not encompass entire countries (even if they may cross national borders). The report Regional Collaboration on Societal Challenges – A Survey of Examples of Long-Term Organization (2024) presents a survey of Swedish and international examples of regional collaboration on societal challenges. The aim is to gather and disseminate knowledge and experiences to inspire the further development of support structures for social innovation.
The survey was conducted by Forum for Social Innovation Sweden. Forum for Social Innovation Sweden is a national knowledge and collaboration platform based at Malmö University, with regional hubs at the University of Borås, Jönköping University, Luleå University of Technology, Malmö University, Umeå University, and Örebro University. The report was produced within the framework of Sweden’s national Competence Centre for Social Innovation under the European Social Fund (ESF), which is operated by Forum for Social Innovation Sweden behalf of the Swedish ESF Council, in collaboration with the National Network for Coordination Associations and the Partnership for Social Innovation in Örebro County.