On the road to Agenda 2030 together in a complex alliance of Swedish public authorities

Abstract

This article describes cooperation between authorities and universities in order to increase innovation capacity and thereby achieve change in performance and execution for better contribution to a sustainable future. Through action research, the authors have developed new knowledge about dialogical organisational development as a method for increasing innovation capacity. The paper recognises that administrative and adaptive leadership must work together effectively if organisations are to function properly and that the complexity cannot be controlled with complicated systems; adaptation is more important than fixing administrative structures. There is a need for a dynamic relationship between the formal and the informal in organisations—between top-down administrative forces and complex, adaptive and emergent forces. The study also shows that there is a need for a wider range and simultaneous use of management models adapted to different contexts and needs.