Through Viable Cities, Sweden has become internationally visible as a country at the forefront of climate and sustainability in cities. This is shown by an evaluation three years after the start of the program.
Viable Cities is the youngest of 17 strategic innovation programs funded in a joint effort by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. The program has now been evaluated by external evaluators three years after its launch.
"The evaluation shows that we have good conditions in Sweden to be international pioneers in the transition required to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees," says Allan Larsson Chairman in the programme's steering board, which also has a role in the EU-level Steering Group on Climate Neutral Cities. Since cities account for more than 70 percent of climate emissions, the transformation of cities is crucial, he says.
Among other things, the evaluators highlight that the Viable Cities program is ambitious and has a modern approach to innovation with a focus on systemic change to strengthen the ability of Swedish cities to take a leading role in the energy and climate transition. They believe that Viable Cities has become an important hub for participating municipalities' transition processes towards better sustainability.
- "We are pleased that the evaluators are so positive about what the program has achieved so far," says Olga Kordas, program manager for Viable Cities and researcher at KTH. "It gives us the strength to continue our work together with Swedish cities and other stakeholders with a view to climate-neutral cities in 2030.
Christopher Palmberg, Business Finland, Monica Schofield, Tutech Innovation GmbH and Tommy Jansson, WSP have carried out the evaluation during spring 2020. The program has a duration of twelve years until 2030 and is evaluated every three years. The purpose of this evaluation is, among other things, to see how well the program has been established and to highlight the program's strengths and potential for improvement.
Read the full evaluation here
About Strategic Innovation Programs
Strategic innovation programs are an initiative where leading actors from business, academia and public organisations themselves identify and define areas where they see a need for a Swedish effort and joint efforts. The Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova and Formas together finance and support 17 strategic innovation programs. All programs undergo an initial evaluation after three years. The Swedish Energy Agency is the main financier for the Viable Cities and Re:Source programs.
Read more about the 17 programs here.
