Social Symbiosis for Industrial Change

Purpose

The climate goals cannot be realized by focusing on processes where only environmental issues are at the center. Instead, the climate goals should be seen to a greater extent as effects, which are achieved through an increased focus on welfare challenges and societal goals. Sustainable transition requires both a deep and broad understanding of society's central welfare and societal challenges such as social stability, community services, housing provision, mobility, competence provision, technology development, etc. which will need to be managed in an integrated manner with climate work. A cross-border gathering of forces is required to meet the challenges with the goal of achieving a sustainable society.

The municipal challenges and needs for small and medium-sized municipalities can be listed in the following points:

• Lack of personnel, organizational and strategic capacity
• Small resources to coordinate an organization at inter-municipal and regional level
• The needs are complex – no single actor has control over the whole
• Demand for collaborative and exploratory services
• Need for innovation capacity and leadership for readjustment
• Need for cooperation with financial actors who trade with social investment funds for investments in transition solutions for increased social sustainability
• Create capacity to supply working life with expertise in connection with large industrial establishments

Method

Social symbiosis is based on the capacity of municipalities and regions to be strong partners with the business world by developing the ability to initiate and run innovative governance and collaboration processes linked to the development and management of the built environment. This presupposes the capacity to specify new ways of driving social development and the ability to finance various welfare solutions.

Social symbios handlar även om att stärka civilsamhällets aktiva medverkan i samhällsutvecklingen genom att initiera och driva samverkansprocesser Social symbiosis is also about strengthening civil society's active participation in the development of society by initiating and running collaborative processes that bring together a diversity of citizens and actors. The role of business is also important here – in terms of Utility society2.0 – and to develop this role in new forms of mutual cooperation.

Delivery

RISE can contribute with the following support:

• Build networks with competences that respond to the needs of municipalities, with the support of relationship-building collaborative forms and action-oriented efforts.
• Strengthen innovation and development capacity as well as learning within and between municipalities, regions and industry.
• Create value chains based on bringing actors together to achieve more efficient resource utilization, which contributes to social benefit and socio-economic gains with bearing on the following areas: new industrialization, housing supply, commercial and public services, mobility and accessibility, skills supply and social and cultural infrastructure.

Innovations Partner Agreement

RISE offers the opportunity to create a common platform by signing innovation partner agreements that promote innovation-driven solutions. The innovation partner agreement is aimed at municipalities, regions and industry with a focus on societal and environmental benefit and as an effect socio-economic gains.

The innovation partnership is based on long-term cooperation. The aim is to jointly create an organizational culture that is based on interaction, as opposed to a purely customer mission. A fundamental goal is that an organization – with the support of various forms of learning processes – should strengthen the capacity to lead innovation, change and adjustment processes on its own over time.