Mission and governance

Owner's manual

RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB (RISE AB) is a limited company and wholly owned by the Swedish state. RISE AB is based on the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance, the Swedish Companies Act, the state's ownership policy, and guidelines for companies with state ownership. The guidelines are based on the "comply or explain" principle. This means that in cases where RISE AB does not follow the guidelines, it will be explained.

The organisation shall be profitable but shall not pay dividends to the shareholder. The company's registered office is in Gothenburg. RISE's main activities are to conduct industrial research in the form of institutes, testing, certification and training. Read more in the Owner's Manual for RISE (in Swedish).

The RISE group (known collectively as RISE) consists of parent company RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB and a number of wholly owned and partly owned subsidiaries.

Annual general meeting

RISE's highest decision-making body is the AGM. This is where RISE's sole shareholder, the Swedish government, formally exercises its influence. Find the documents from the most recent annual general meeting here (Swedish).

Articles of Association

The owner decides on the company’s business objectives and operating framework through its Articles of Association. The business objectives of state-owned companies are based on decisions by the Riksdag. The Articles of Association for state-owned companies are based on the regulations in the Swedish Companies Act relating to companies with shares admitted to trading on a regulated market, the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance, and the State’s ownership policy and guidelines for state-owned enterprises.

Organisation number: 556464-6874

§1 Firma
Bolagets firma är RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB.

§2 Styrelsens säte
Styrelsen ska ha sitt säte i Göteborgs kommun.

§3 Verksamhet
Föremålet för bolagets verksamhet, direkt eller indirekt genom att äga intresse- eller dotterbolag, ska vara att bedriva industriforskning i institutsform, provning, certifiering och utbildning samt att skapa förutsättningar för att utveckla verksamheten så att den, med fokus på forskning, utveckling, innovation och därtill kopplade tjänster, väsentligt bidrar till att stärka det svenska näringslivets konkurrenskraft och verkar för en hållbar tillväxt samt att äga och förvalta lös egendom samt att bedriva därmed förenlig verksamhet.

§4 Aktiekapital
Bolagets aktiekapital ska utgöra lägst tjugomiljoner (20 000 000) kronor och högst åttiomiljoner (80 000 000) kronor.

§5 Antalet aktier
Antalet aktier ska vara lägst tvåhundratusen (200 000) och högst åttahundratusen (800 000).

§6 Styrelse och revisorer
Bolagets styrelse ska, till den del den utses av bolagsstämman, bestå av lägst fem (5) och högst nio (9) ledamöter utan suppleanter. Bolagsstämman ska utse styrelseordföranden. Om ordföranden lämnar sitt uppdrag under mandattiden ska styrelsen inom sig välja ordförande för tiden intill utgången av den bolagsstämma då ny ordförande väljs av stämman.

Bolaget ska ha en (1) eller två (2) auktoriserade revisorer med eller utan en (1)eller två (2) revisorssuppleanter eller ett (1) registrerat revisionsbolag somrevisor.

§7 Kallelse till bolagsstämma
Kallelse till årsstämma samt kallelse till extra bolagsstämma där fråga om ändring av bolagsordningen ska behandlas, utfärdas tidigast sex (6) veckor och senast fyra (4) veckor före stämman. Kallelse till annan extra bolagsstämma ska utfärdas tidigast sex (6) veckor och senast tre (3) veckor före stämman.

Kallelse till bolagsstämma ska skickas med post till aktieägaren samt ska ske genom annonsering i Post- och Inrikes Tidningar samt på bolagets webbplats. Vid tidpunkten för kallelse ska information om att kallelse skett annonseras i Dagens Industri.

§8 Räkenskapsår
Bolagets räkenskapsår ska vara kalenderår.

§9 Vinstutdelning
Aktierna medför inte rätt till utdelning, utan bolagets vinst ska, i den mån den inte reserveras, användas för att främja bolagets ändamål på sätt som anges i § 3 ovan. Någon vinstutdelning från bolaget ska därför inte ske. Vid bolagets likvidation ska bolagets behållna tillgångar fördelas bland aktieägarna.

§10 Bolagsstämma
Bolagsstämma ska hållas i Göteborgs kommun eller i Stockholms kommun.

Om bolaget har mer än femtio (50) anställda har riksdagsledamot rätt att, efter anmälan till styrelsen, närvara vid bolagsstämma och i anslutning till denna ställa frågor. Anmälan bör vara styrelsen tillhanda en (1) vecka i förväg. Underrättelse om tid och plats för bolagsstämma ska sändas med brev till riksdagens centralkansli i anslutning till utfärdandet av kallelsen till stämman.

§11 Förbehåll om regeringens medgivande till viss ändring i bolagsordningen
§3 och §9 ovan får inte ändras utan att regeringen har lämnat tillstånd därtill.

RISE Research Council was established in 2016 with the aim of ensuring the industry commitment and influence over RISE's research focus and strategy. The background is that, during the consolidation of RISE AB, the parties (RISE and the former industrial owners) made an influence agreement as compensation for various shareholder contracts that previously existed.

The Research Council's responsibility and main tasks are to guide the RISE board on cross-functional investment projects and the distribution of strategic competence funds. The Council shall also guide RISE on strategic issues concerning research orientation and priority issues for the industry, as well as provide advice on, and management of, certain research issues.

Members of RISE research council:

• Malin Persson (Chairman), Styrelsearbetare, Flertal företag
• Anders Persson, Executive Director strategy & innovation, AstraZeneca
• Pernilla Winnhed, Avdelningschef näringspolitik och företagande, LRF
• Joakim Björkdahl, Prof technology management and economics, Chalmers
• Anna Jonhed, SVP Formed Fibres, Stora Enso
• Håkan Herbertsson, Director Manufacturing Strategy, Husqvarna
• Per Johan Lööv, Innovation Project Manager, Corporate R&D, Lantmännen
• Peter Johansson, Bitr. Avdelningschef, Teknikföretagen
• Anita Aspegren, VD IQ Samhällsbyggnad, IQS
• Henrik Gunnerling, Range & Product Innovation Manager, IKEA
• Katarina Björklund, VP –  Group Strategy, SAAB
• LarsHenrik Jörnving, VP – Head of Global Industrial Development, Scania
• Eva Petursson, Executive Vice President, Forskning och innovation, SSAB
• Anders Elfving, FoU-samordnare, Fortifikationsverket
• Fredrik Lennartsson, Avdelningschef Vård o Hälsa, SKR
• Joakim Jeppson, FoU chef Sverige, Skanska
• Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist, Professor företagsekonomi, Handelshögskolan Göteborgs Universitet
• Karin Gäbel, Hållbarhetschef, Thomas Betong
• Björn Ekelund, Corporate Research Director, Ericsson
• Karl Bergman, Vice President Strategic Transformation Initiatives, Vattenfall
• Anders Norén, Hållbarhetschef, Södra
• Edward Jobsson, Senior Director New Technologies, AB Volvo

RISE Board of directors consists of eight elected directors, three ordinary employee representatives and two alternates.

Directors

Jan Wäreby (born 1956), Chair of the Board since January 2017, Chair of the Remuneration Committee. Previously Senior Vice President and Head of Group Function Sales at Ericsson, before which he served as Senior Vice President and Head of the Multimedia Business Unit, and Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. Degree of Master of Science form Chalmers University of Technology. Chair of the Board of Investment Spiltan AB and Board member of Exportkreditnämnden (EKN), Kebni AB and Agapi Boating AB.

Anna-Karin Stenberg (born 1956), member of the board since 2015, Chair of the Audit Committee. Vice president head of corporate control, Telia Company AB. Previously CFO Praktikertjänst AB, CFO Vattenfall Nordic, Business Controller Atlas Copco, Business controller ABB, incl. in Corporate Research. Board member of Kebni AB, member of the nomination committee for Skandia’s Council of Delegates. Master of Business Administration specialising in international economics, Linköping University.

Hanna Lagercrantz (born 1970), member of the board since April 2018, member of the Audit Committee. Investment director at the Government Offices of Sweden. Previously Corporate Finance at S.G. Warburg, UBS, Brunswick-Warburg 1994-1998. Share analyst and investor relations at SEB 1999-2008, Government Offices of Sweden since 2008. Other directorships include Swedfund International AB and Svenska Spel AB. Master of Business Administration from Stockholm School of Economics, Master of Philosophy in Economics, Cambridge University.

Klas Bendrik (born 1969), member of the board since April 2018, member of the Audit Committee. Chief Digital Development Officer in DNV. Previous vice President and Executive Partner, Gartner. Previous Senior Vice President and Group CIO Volvo Car Group AB, director of Volvo Cars, independent director of CAB AB since 2012. Previous positions include, for example, Mölnlycke Health Care, Accenture and ASSA ABLOY in the field of Innovation, IT and Digitalisation. Bachelor of Science from the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, and the Swedish Naval Academy (Reserve officer, Captain).

Torbjörn Holmström (born 1955), member of the board since 2017, member of the Remuneration Committee. Board member of Stena Recycling and MAX IV. Chair of Assar Gabrielssons and Volvo Research and Educational Foundation. Previously: CTO, Volvo Group. Chair of Chalmers University of Technology and the Chalmers Foundation. Master of Science Mechanical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology.

Pernilla Jonsson (born 1972), member of the board since 2022. Head of Consumer & Industry Lab at Ericsson Research. Board member of WASP-HS, the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program - Humanities and Society research program, member of Digital Future’s Societal Committee at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Formed multiple advisory boards and innovation advisory boards.

Mikael Hannus (born 1968), member of the board since 2022, member of the Remuneration Committee. Senior Vice President Group Innovation and R&D Stora Enso, Scientific Secretary, The Marcus Wallenberg Prize, member of Svenska Teknikvetenskapsakademien in Finland. Previously Vice President Group R&D, Vice President Biorefinery & Bioenergy and Vice President Energy Stora Enso. Previous chair of board Innventia AB. Other board assignments: Swetree Technologies AB (chair) and Treesearch (chair). Diploma engineer Process Technology Åbo Akademi and eMBA Stockholm School of Economics.

Cristina Petrescu (born 1968), member of the board since 2022, member of the Audit Committee. CEO Healthcare, Seniors and Education Sodexo Sweden. Head of Digital and Innovation, Sodexo Continental Europe. Former Executive Vice President Healthcare, Welfare and Education at Tieto, before that Vice President Energy Utilities at Tieto and Vice President R&D at Tieto Sweden. Board member Softronic AB. Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Computer Engineer from Karlstad University. Has also studied Space Technology at Umeå University in Kiruna and Nuclear Physics, Bucharest University, Romania.

Employee representatives, ordinary:

Linda Ikatti (born 1972), member of the board since 2024. Former member of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden 2016 - 2022 and the former companies SP AB and RISE Holding AB. Test engineer in building physics at the Built Environment division. University studies in chemistry, Borås University. Chair of the Union Club.

Marie Sjölinder, (born 1965), Employee Representative, member of the Board since 2021. Senior Researcher and Project Manager at RISE division Digital Systems. PhD in Psychology, Stockholm University.

Mats Lidbeck, (born 1961), member of the Board of Directors since 2024, member of the Remuneration Committee. Former board member of SP AB and RISE AB. Audit Manager, Division Built Environment. Board member and vice chairman of the Unionen klubben at RISE. Forester, SLU Skinnskatteberg and Bachelor of Science in Measurement and Quality Engineering, Borås University.

Employee representatives, alternates:

Yvonne Nordin, (born 1969), member of the Board since 2022. Senior Project manager at RISE Processum since 2007. Environment Technology Engineering, Mid Sweden University. Courses within project management, biogas technology, quality development and environmental auditing. Unionen representative (APO-F) at RISE Processum.

Stacy Trey (born1979), member of the Board since 2023. Senior Researcher at RISE since 2020. PhD within Polymer Science and Technology, The University of Southern Mississippi. Post doctoral work at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Fiber and Polymer Technology.

Magnus Wikander (born 1977), member of the Board since 2024. Head of Strategic development Maritime Hydrodynamics, division Safety and Transport. Board member of Sweden China Trade Council / Chairman Sweden China Marine Group. Former board member SSPA Sweden AB (merged into RISE in 2024). Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering / M.Sc. Naval Architecture at Chalmers University of Technology.

CEO

Malin Frenning (born 1967), CEO at RISE since 2023. Previously Executive Vice President and Head of Infrastructure, AFRY, CEO County Council of Stockholm and several positions TeliaSonera Group. Board member of SJ and Polhem Infra. Mech Eng and Honorary Dr Technical University of Luleå.

Auditors

YE, head auditor Jennifer Rock-Baley

Our goals are based on our mission and ownership directives. We divide our goals into two main categories: society benefit and business results.

Society benefit

• Sustainable future: We follow up on our contribution to Agenda 2030. RISE will have a net positive contribution to the global goals compared with the previous year.
• The challenges of society: We have contributed to transition that meets society's challenges. The contribution must be greater than the previous year.

Från 2022 mäter vi i vilken mån vi uppfyller vårt högre syfte. 

Profit of the business

• Satisfied customers: We meet and exceed our customers' expectations through value-creating solutions. Satisfied customer index (NKI) > 75.
• Committed employees: We and our future employees are proud and motivated. Commitment Index > 68.
• Economically sustainable business: We have a healthy economy that promotes long-term. Operating margin > 3 percent.
• Environmentally sustainable business: We take responsibility for how our business affects the climate and the environment. The target value for carbon dioxide emissions is specified in 2022 according to the Science Based Targets Initiative.
• Socially sustainable activities: We have a healthy and safe business that promotes diversity and equality. Work environment index > 68.

Read more in our Annual and Sustainability report found amongst our financial reports.

Our values are a central part of our strategy and the basis for a culture where we perform better together.

We are more than 3,000 passionate researchers, technicians, project managers, engineers and other bright minds with a wide range of competences. And this is needed when we, together with customers and partners from industry, the public sector and academia, take on some of society's most important and toughest challenges.

Our values help us cultivate a culture characterised by:

• Trust
• Curiosity
• Collaboration
• Value creation

This is how we create an open and inclusive climate for multiple perspectives, build networks and create value based on the needs of the world around us.

Our strategy is based on the needs that exist in the world around us and the expectations that business and the public sector have of us. The strategy is a tool for creating growth. It is based on the mission we have from our owner, and it helps us accelerate the transition.

The strategy for achieving our goals and contributing to sustainable growth in Sweden is about offering science-based solutions that strengthen the competitiveness of the business sector and contribute to sustainable transition.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals set the overall direction for a sustainable future by 2030. At RISE, these goals serve as the guiding star for all the work we do, and the vision for what we want to achieve together with our customers and partners.

RISE's strategy for sustainable growth 2022-2026 is based on five prioritised societal challenges in the Swedish Research Bill.

Climate and environment
In the area of climate and environment, there is a need for more research on climate change, biodiversity, oceans and water, sustainable and a climate-adapted built society, circularity and a bio-based economy and sustainable food systems.

Health and welfare
New needs are arising from the growing health gaps between socioeconomic groups, lifestyle diseases, an aging population, pandemics, antibiotic resistance and mental illness. More focus is needed on preventive measures, and healthcare that is personalized, digitalised, equal and accessible.

Digitalisation
The digital transformation of society is an important prerequisite for innovation in both the public and private sectors. There needs to be more focus on a secure and ethical application of digital services, which will require regulatory alignment so that technology integration is both secure and ethical.

Talent management and working life
In many areas and at all levels of education there is a serious shortage of trained staff. Supply of labour, with the right expertise, is a prerequisite for a high quality of life, continued growth and development throughout the country, and a high rate of growth.

A strong, democratic society
Cyberattacks and natural disasters are testing society’s resilience and ability to recover. Challenges like these confirm the growing need for more knowledge about how we should create and maintain strong societies.

Strategic investments

We have decided on these strategic investments in collaboration with our customers, as a means of predicting future needs. Through RISE Research Council, we also receive guidance on strategic issues regarding research focus and priorities in the business community.

The initiatives are continuously reviewed in line with new opportunities and challenges that affect the business community and the public sector. This is necessary to ensure that we remain relevant to our customers.

To meet societal and industrial challenges, RISE will during the next years focus on areas such as energy supply and electrification, industrial transition, health and life sciences, societal transition in urban environments, transformation through applied digitalisation and AI, and total defence. We continue developing our infrastructure for test and demo to enable upscaling of biorefinery, material development, battery testing and sustainable transports.

One important objective for RISE research institutes is to contribute to the ongoing competitiveness and renewal of Swedish industry. Through strategic competence funds, RISE has the opportunity to develop various offers to the private and public sectors.

These funds can be used to increase the expertise within the institutes within the RISE group, for structural measures aimed at creating a coherent institute sector, and for the operation of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB.

The appropriation for the RISE group for the full year 2023 amounted to SEK 759 million in accordance with the Swedish Government’s bill 2020/21:60 Expenditure Area 24.

Some of the appropriation was distributed by the RISE Board to Swerim AB. In addition to this appropriation, special initiatives were targeted in accordance with the aforementioned bill and the research and innovation policy bill 2020/21:60 in three areas:

• Climate of SEK 5 million
• Digitalisation of SEK 15 million 
• Society's transition of SEK 55 million

Financing system

The financing system is impact-oriented and is designed to support the development of industry research institute’s strategies. For the period 2009-2017, resources were placed at the disposal of the boards within the RISE institute groups, with the parent company for RISE establishing the overriding owner focus of facilitating sustainable growth in Sweden by strengthening competitiveness and innovation in the business community.

The design of the financing system has been governed by the Swedish Government’s appropriation directions and Government Bill 2008/09:50 – A Boost to Research and Innovation. These documents have been supplemented with the following principles:

• Responsibility delegated to implementing units
• Simplicity and transparency
• An industry-independent financing system

Taken together, these boundary conditions are important components of the owner governance process that are intended to ensure that RISE Research Institutes of Sweden is a world leader in the development and renewal of commerce and industry and contributes to sustainable development.

This system means that the grant in its entirety is earnings-related, based on normalised earnings as fixed by parent company RISE. Normalised earnings are defined as the organisation’s most recently reported turnover minus their Strategic Competence (SC) fund allocation and extraordinary items.

Strategic competence funds (SC funds)

This system means that the grant in its entirety is earnings-related, based on normalised earnings as fixed by parent company RISE. Normalised earnings are defined as the organisation’s most recently reported turnover minus their Strategic Competence (SC) fund allocation and extraordinary items.

The purpose of dividing SC funds according to the principle of normalised earnings is to reward the individual industry research institute’s business-related activities in accordance with the Research and Innovation Bill. These funds shall be used with a specific focus on collaboration with higher education institutions, other institutes and small and medium-sized companies. Funds can also be used for EU projects. SC funds shall also be used for the structural development of institutes and costs associated with restructuring, as well as to promote collaboration within RISE in strategically important areas.

One of RISE’s tasks is to develop an impact measurement system in order to assess how investments made by the institutes lead to the results expected of the increased funding.

This impact measurement system is based on a study conducted by the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis in 2013; Public support to innovation - a multi-method approach to evaluate RTOs the case of RISE. In addition to this, RISE reports annually to the Swedish Ministry of Climate and Enterprise based on KPIs stated in the State’s ownership instructions.

• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2023
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2022
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2021
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2020
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2019
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2018
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2017
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2016
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2015
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2014
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2013
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2012
• Användning av strategiska kompetensmedel för 2011

Policyer

En policy är ett styrande dokument som på en övergripande nivå anger ramarna för vår verksamhet och hur medarbetare ska agera i vissa frågor. Varje policy beslutas av styrelsen. Ladda ner våra policys som PDF.

• Work environment policy
• Financial risk policy (In Swedish)
• Sustainability policy 
• Information security policy
• Inclusion policy
• Communication policy
• Quality policy
• Environmental policy
• Security policy
• Code of conduct for employees
• Code of conduct for suppliers

Andra styrande dokument

• Gender Equality Plan
• Personal data processing

• Insurance letter - liability insurance
• Insurance letter - transports (in Swedish)
• RISE's proof of registration (in Swedish).

Contact us if you have any further questions regarding insurance letters or certificates.