Telemarksforsking has for many years researched how municipalities work with innovation and development, which instruments are used, and what results are achieved. This includes work on benefits realization, dissemination, and implementation of innovations.
In recent years, co-creation has been a recurring topic at municipal conferences and is mentioned in government white papers on the public sector. Co-creation in the public sector is about addressing complex and multifaceted societal challenges and involves engaging citizens, businesses, volunteer organizations, and other local community actors in innovation processes where everyone participates on equal terms. Telemarksforsking researches how co-creative innovation is applied in Norwegian municipalities, which specific methods are used, factors that can hinder or enable co-creation, the level and quality of co-creation taking place, and its effects.
From 2020 to 2024, we carried out a research and development project funded by the Research Council of Norway. Through this project, Stad and Nordre Follo municipalities experimented with co-creation in a systematic way in practice.