In Sweden, there are two key factors in recent years that have enabled successful social investment: firstly, the role of a unique government innovation agency dedicated to investing in social impact projects, and secondly, dedicated programmes within public institutions that can build innovation networks and partnerships across different sectors. 

National innovation agency: Sweden’s own government innovation agency, Vinnova, operates under the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation to contribute to a more sustainable future. Vinnova funds innovative projects with social impact, for example, a project giving tools to the health and social care sector of the City of Mölndal to procure more innovative solutions such as security-creating technology for people living in nursing homes or having other special needs. Between 2017 and 2019, Vinnova spent SEK 55 million to support and implement targeted social innovations from direct government funds. This is in addition to the approximately SEK 25 million which the agency invests annually in self-initiated projects. Some private investors active in networking and capacity-building related to social innovations include Leksell, Ashoka, Reach for Change, Norrsken Foundation, Axfoundation, Mikrofonden Väst, Ferd Social Entrepreneurs, Uppstart Malmö, Inclusive Business Sweden, Impact Investment Scandinavia, and Inkludera Invest (Vinnova 2018).  

Networks: Programmes within public institutions also enable innovation networks to form. One example of this is at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. For several years, the institution has taken the degree of innovation in healthcare technology into account when making procurements. This work has been done under the MT/ICT programme, which began in 2014 and focuses on innovation partnerships in municipalities. Most of the innovative procurements taken up thus far by Karolinska have to do with new business models and practices and less with new technology. Innovative procurement led to higher costs at the initial stages (planning and procurement) but also to larger savings and improved quality in the long run (Karolina Universitetssjukhuset, Upphandlingsmyndigheten, and EY 2017); (Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner 2022).

The scope and nature of social investment in Swedish municipalities determine how modest the impacts may be. Municipalities and regions sometimes seek ways to invest in preventive solutions, providing social investment funds, or operating within a cooperative risk-sharing model (such as SIBs). In general, social investment is rather common in Swedish municipalities as 47% of them have experience of it in some form, and compared to 2014, 29% more had allocated money specifically for this cause. However, this amount is quite limited in comparison to the municipal budgets, and the overall impact has been rather modest. Most change may be perceived in new perspectives within municipal decision-making and growing interest towards social investment among businesses and non-governmental organisations (Balkfors et al. 2020).