Many important issues, such as climate change, social welfare issues and social and spatial planning, often fall through the cracks between different sectors and stakeholders. This can lead to a lack shared responsibility and important issues being left unresolved. What if there was a way to drive important issues forward and find solutions?
Martin Fransson at Karlstads universitet Samhällsnytta AB and researcher at the Service Research Center is the author behind the report “Värdskap för ledning av ägarlösa tjänstesystem” (Hosting for the management of ownerless service systems), which addresses how to manage major issues that often fall between the responsibilities of different actors. The report is based on insights from the project “Systemdesign i samverkan” (System design in collaboration), financed by the Swedish Transport Administration.
– The idea behind the report is to propose a clear framework for system hosting, says Martin Fransson.
– The purpose of the framework is to promote collaboration in complex and ownerless service systems. Such systems are special in that no one actor has full responsibility, which requires multiple actors to share leadership to address the challenges together.
Challenges can include, as in the case of the Swedish Transport Administration, large infrastructure projects with many stakeholders that must come to an agreement, but they can also involve social issues or issues related to the environment and climate change. The report introduces a framework for system hosting, that is, a method and an arena where various actors come together to solve complex challenges and problems.
– Knowledge about system hosting can strengthen our planning processes and create better conditions for collaboration with other actors in future infrastructure projects, says Petter Åsman, project sponsor at the Swedish Transport Administration.
The report presents a practical framework for system hosting, which facilitates collaboration between actors in complex service systems. By creating a neutral arena, system hosting enables co-creation and shared responsibility. This approach has proven to be particularly valuable in contexts where no single actor has the mandate or resources to solve challenges on their own, such as in large infrastructure projects or social and environmental issues.
The professional host as an important facilitator
The professional system host plays a crucial role by building trust, structuring dialogues and using methods such as visualisation and prototyping to support the process. This creates conditions for a system leadership where actors collectively take responsibility for the development and long-term goals of the system.
– The main point of the report is that a professional host is often required to enable collaboration. Hosting involves more than just booking a venue, serving coffee and following an agenda, says Martin Fransson.
– A professional host can make a real difference by facilitating dialogues between parties with different perspectives and interests. It is the host’s duty to facilitate the dialogue when the different parties meet, to ensure that everyone has a say, to visualise what is being discussed, to cultivate a culture of collaboration and to help the parties understand each other’s operations, which leads to progress.
What effect are you hoping the research will have in the long term?
– I hope that the concept and methods related to this will continue to develop. I also hope that it will be of practical use to everyone who contributes in collaborative situations, whether it is external consultants or people in administration who need to facilitate collaboration, says Martin Fransson.
Read the report in full (in Swedish)
Facts
Service system – a group of stakeholders, including organisations, citizens and users, who exchange resources such as time, expertise, information and technical solutions to interact and create value.
System design – service design that is implemented with a systems approach, involving a constellation of stakeholders who collaboratively address complex societal challenges by understanding and influencing structures and dynamics within the system to create sustainable solutions.
System hosting – creating conditions for system leadership and collaboration in complex and ownerless service systems by providing a neutral arena where stakeholders can meet, co-create solutions and develop long-term structures for collaboration and shared responsibility.
System leadership – establishing a management function with the ability and conditions to take ultimate responsibility for the service system to create value.
Samhällsnytta AB
Samhällsnytta is a national meeting place for actors at different levels of society who are looking for new ways of working together to solve the societal challenges of today. The working methods are based on knowledge established by researchers at the Service Research Center (CTF), Karlstad University, and designers at Experio Lab, Region Värmland. A common objective is to develop new ways for citizens to impact democratic institutions. Samhällsnytta is a subsidiary of Karlstads universitet Holding AB, a company wholly owned by Karlstad University.
Service Research Center (CTF)
Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University is an interdisciplinary research centre that conducts research on value creation through services based on the needs of individuals, organisations and society. Research is conducted in collaboration with academia and the surrounding community, and positioned at the forefront of international research.
