In an era defined by multifaceted crises, governments are faced with increasingly complex and evolving policy challenges. To address them, governments must be able to handle short-term emergencies, as well as strategic priorities and long-term commitments, particularly those related to climate change. At the same time, governments must respond to higher citizen expectations, decreasing public confidence, scepticism about the integrity of policymakers and increasing fiscal pressure, all the while modernising their public administrations and embracing the digital transition. It is no small feat.
The OECD Public Governance Monitor (PGM) identifies possible responses to these challenges from a public governance perspective. It analyses the strengths and weaknesses of public governance systems, instruments and capabilities, identifying areas of opportunity for reform. Building on the Ministerial Declaration of the OECD Public Governance Committee (PGC) at Ministerial Level on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy of November 2022, the PGM draws upon cross-cutting work carried out under the Committee.
This PGM looks at Sweden’s reform programmes and priorities and considers how public governance reforms could better support responses to pressing issues such as restoring growth, ushering in the green transition and boosting employment. It was drafted during the transition to the new government appointed in Sweden in October 2022 and revised in early 2023 for discussion at the OECD Public Governance Committee in April of the same year. It provides a snapshot of Sweden’s public governance mechanisms around six key themes: public sector effectiveness, public spending, public participation, the governance of climate change and other crosscutting priorities, digital transformation, and public integrity.
In the preparation of this report, the OECD drew from public governance data on Sweden from various sources, including Government at a Glance (2021), the OECD Economic Survey of Sweden (2021 and 2023), the OECD Digital Government Review of Sweden (2019), the OECD Value for Money report for Sweden (2013), the OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions (2021), as well as from different OECD indices and dashboards (OECD Better Life Index, PISA, OECD Green Recovery Dashboard, OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance 2021, etc.). Local sources and documents have also been used to refine the analysis, including reports from ministries, the Swedish Agency for Public Management, and other relevant agencies. During a scoping phase in 2022, inputs were also collected through virtual consultations and meetings with several stakeholders in the Prime Minister’s Office and from across the Government Offices and agencies. These interactions helped identify priorities for assessing public sector effectiveness and the governance of cross-cutting issues, such as on enabling the digital transformation and strengthening public integrity. During a fact-finding mission held on 6-7 October in Stockholm, the report’s preliminary findings and recommendations for public governance were discussed.
The report was discussed by delegates to the Public Governance Committee at its 67th session on 18-19 April 2023. It was subsequently approved and declassified by the Committee on 5 June 2023 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat.