A Good Practice Guide to Regional Innovation Ecosystems by eDigiregion Project Team

Author:eDigiregion Project Team
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oak Tree Press

Figure 10: Innovation strategy for the Stockholm region ( Source: Stockholm 2025 64 )

Stockholm’s regulatory environment lends itself very well to entrepreneurship, with high levels of openness and a streamlined business incorporation process. The economic, political and legal stability in Sweden all contribute to the positive environment for innovation. Vinnova, 65 the Swedish government agency for innovation systems, was formed in 2001 to streamline research and industrial policies in Sweden into a united innovation policy.

Stockholm was a leading region in ensuring advanced broadband connectivity for its citizens. In 1994, the regional government formed Stokab, a company tasked with the development of a fibre-optic infrastructure to equip Stockholm with the capacity to realise the advantages of ICT and build its economy on high technology early in the global economy.

The Stockholm region is home to 28 universities 66 and many reputable research institutes such as the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet. There is strong business collaboration in the region between the HEIs and industry. An exemplar of the strength of the triple helix partnership in Stockholm is Kista Science City, 67 the largest ICT innovation cluster in Europe and the third largest in the world, which is home to over 1,000 ICT companies and 36 R&D institutions. 68 In 1986, industry, academia and the public sector came together to form the Electrum Foundation, which operates through two not-for-profit agencies: Kista Science City AB (the operative entity) and Stockholm Innovation and Growth AB (STING – the world-class incubator programme of Kista Science City). There are also 6,800 people studying on the Kista campuses of Stockholm University and the Royal Institute of Technology.

A number of incubators – such as STING, 69 – support entrepreneurship in the region. Their purpose is to exploit entrepreneurial ideas that have the capacity to develop into high potential enterprises. Of STING companies, 70% come from industry, with the remainder connected to universities and research institutes, highlighting again the high levels of triple helix engagement in Stockholm.

The Vinnväxt programme, run by Vinnova, is an example of a policy measure that focuses on funding only projects that realise world-class research and innovation environments via the triple helix partnership in regional economies in Sweden. Furthermore, Stockholm 2025 continues to prioritise triple helix engagement via its ‘cross sector approach’ focus area.

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