This document discusses sustainable development through clusters and Sweden's Innovation Agency's (Vinnova) efforts to promote the UN's 2030 Agenda and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Vinnova has identified the SDGs as the framework to guide its work and is piloting approaches to better integrate the SDGs into regional cluster initiatives. Two examples of cluster initiatives are provided - the Biorefinery of the Future cluster which aims to contribute to sustainability in the bioeconomy, and the Smedpack cluster working to increase medicine security.

2. Sustainable development
through clusters
Sofia Norberg & Moa Eklund, Vinnova
www.vinnova.se/vinnvaxt
sofia.norberg@vinnova.se
moa.eklund@vinnova.se

3. Vinnova – Sweden’s Innovation Agency
” Vinnova's vision is for Sweden to become a leading global
player in research and innovation, and a country that is
attractive for investment and entrepreneurship”
• 200 employees
• Stockholm, Brussels, Silicon Valley & TelAviv
• Government agency - Ministry of Enterprise & Innovation
• 3 billion SEK invested in research and innovation/year

4. A traditional, typical, Vinnova-project
• R&D-projects that develop strategic, new, knowledge
• Focus on technological challenges
• Long projects, 3-5 years, hard to adjust for changes
• Few project partners, generally 1-5 actors
• The “usual suspects”, typically male dominance
• Impact often too unclear
• Economic growth as main focus
• Our own definitions of sustainable growth – difficult to operationalize
Primarily top-down calls: narrow themes
or stakeholder oriented

5. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development –
17 SDGs and 169 targets

6. Sweden as a frontrunner
• Ambition to be in the forefront
• The Government: high attention within all ministries
and aligning of efforts
• Swedish Delegation for the 2030Agenda
• National action plan – spring 2018
• National performance indicators are evolving
• High Level Political Forum – first voluntary national
review 2017

7. A framework for the world’s largest order!

8. • We improve the conditions for innovation
• The 2030 Agenda drives and requiresinnovation
• We strengthen the capacity to contribute to the SDGs
Sweden’s Innovation Agency
Mission: Sustainable growth

9. We have identified our overall relation to the SDG:s
The ”core”/
our mission
Targeted
programmes
Specific
projects
contribute

10. Pilot: Vinnväxt
Sustainable regional
growth by developing
internationally
competitive research
and innovation
environments in
specific growth fields.
14 initiatives in the
programme

11. The SDGs in our call Vinnväxt 2019 –
the 2030 Agenda as driving force to create regional sustainable growth
Assessment
The potential of the initiative
to contribute to the 2030
Agenda through the renewal
and transformation of the
growth field
Impact intervention logic
The 2030 Agenda as a driving
force (activities, results
and impact). SDG 8,9,5 and (10)
+ thematic goals depending on
the growth field
Seminar and workshop
For the applicants focusing on the
2030 Agenda and the SDGs
Background information
Global context, Swedish
challenges, Vinnova
perspective and the focus
in Vinnväxt (and the call)
Purpose
Create regional sustainable growth.
The SDGs/the 2030 Agenda and
gender equality should be an
integrated part of the vision and
working methods - driving force for
renewal and transformation
Constellation of actors
The strong focus on the 2030
Agenda and the SDGs may require
new and strengthened partnerships
between players in different
sectors and industries

12. Activities to support our
cluster initiatives
• Information and raise awareness
• Exchange of experiences
• Workshops – next steps
• Pilot projects to integrate the SDG:s

13. The Biorefinery of the Future
• Bioeceonomy and sustainable growth through
radical innovations from forest raw materials
• Focus in the pilot project:
• Identify the role and key areas for the cluster initiative with regard
to the 2030 Agenda
• Rise awareness about sustainability aspects in the transition of
the bioeconomy
• Increase the ability to use sustainability arguments to attract
capital and competence in international competition
• Increase the ability to create projects/activities with a strong
sustainability profile that explicitly meets the SDG:s
• Strengthen the brand of the cluster initiative as a driving force in
regional restructuring

14. Smedpack
Falsified medicines is growing and a global problem with
serious consequences
Increase the security in supply chains of the legal medicines,
e.g. security and tamper-evident features of the packages,
consumer apps and collaborating with Europe
The Medical Products Agency, pharmaceutical producers,
pharmacies, universities, law enforcement, customs, The
Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions,
counties, labelmakers and designers
CHALLENGE
Future
Healthcare
STAGE

15. School for everyone, from the first day in
the new country
Many students with a foreign background are not eligible for
higher education and are therefore alienated from society
Develop and test multi-lingual e-learning solution for immigrant
students that yet do not master the Swedish language
Technology providers, publishers, research institutes,
universities, municipalities, schools, authorities
CHALLENGE 2015-2017
Information
Society
STAGE

16. Where are we
now?• Closer collaboration between actors in value networks and with
users/customers in the centre
• Inclusion of a broader range of stakeholders in collaboration
projects, such as municipalities, patient organizations etc
• Change & Innovation projects that focus on both results and effects
• Solutions to societal challenges and are needs-based
• Gender balanced both in implementation and effect
The SDGs are our primary tool to work more inclusively
and effect oriented