Swedish Platform for System Innovation Research in Interaction
2026 Symposium
Transformative innovation policy – adapting to new challenges
On 8 October 2026, the third SIRI symposium will be held in Stockholm.
Preliminary programme
8:45–9:15 Arrival coffee
9:15–9:30 Introduction to the day
9:30–9:40 Opening words by Harald Rohracher (Chairman of the Board of SIRI)
9:40–10:00 Keynote speech by Paula Kivimaa (Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE)
10:00–10:30 Panel discussion – Transformative innovation policy in the face of new challenges
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Aivar Hiio (Head of Innovation, State Chancellery of Estonia)
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Paula Kivimaa (Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE)
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TBA
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TBA
10:30–11:00 Coffee break
11:00–12:00 Policy dialogues in parallel sessions I
Session 1: Designing for transformation – what are the core elements of transformative practice?
Moderator: Jenny Engström (Team Leader Impact Innovation, VINNOVA)
Presenters:
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Hans Hellsmark (Associate Professor, Chalmers University of Technology)
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TBA
Session 2: Transformative innovation policy for defence and security
Moderator: TBA
Panelists:
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Maria-Theresa Norn (Associate Professor, Deputy Head of Department, Danish Technical University)
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Rickard Stridh (Director of Center for Capability Development and Innovation, Swedish Defence University)
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TBA
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–14:15 Policy dialogues in parallel sessions II
Session 3: Evaluating transformative innovation policy
Moderators: Emily Wise, Project manager and researcher at CIRCLE, Lund University; Magnus Johansson, Research leader, RISE
Presenters:
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Michal Miedzinski (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)
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TBA
Session 4: Sustainability and defence
Moderator: Wisdom Kanda (Senior Associate Professor, Linköping University)
Panelists:
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Paula Kivimaa (Research Professor, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE)
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Björn-Ola Linnér (Professor, Linköping University)
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TBA
14:15–14:45 Coffee break
14:45–15:45 Panel discussion
15:45–16:00 Concluding the day
16:00–17:30 Farewell drinks
About the speakers
Paula Kivimaa, PhD, is Research Professor in Climate and Society in the Finnish Environment Institute Syke, Associate at SPRU, University of Sussex, and Associate Editor in Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. She is an internationally renowned scholar in sustainability transitions, with over 20-year research experience on innovations, public policy, climate change, energy and mobility. Kivimaa’s recent and ongoing work is oriented to how security and geopolitics tie into innovation policy and energy transitions. She has held several expert positions nationally and internationally. Currently Kivimaa is a member of the Finnish Climate Change Panel and a co-chair of EASAC’s energy steering panel. Recently, Kivimaa was a member of the Joint Research Centre’s Expert Group on Fair and Sustainable Economy and DG GROW Fellow 2025 for the European Commission. In 2024, Kivimaa was one of the authors of DG RTD commissioned expert report “Addressing European research and innovation challenges for system transitions in energy and mobility.
Aivar Hiio is the Head of the Innovation Unit at the Government Office of Estonia. In this role, he leads cross-ministerial initiatives, public sector innovation projects, and manages the national Public Sector Innovation Fund to build capacity for testing and implementing cutting-edge public solutions. With an extensive background in digital governance and public administration, Aivar previously served as a Strategic Advisor for the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, where he focused on educational personalization and innovation. He was also the founder of the Practus Digital Governance Center, through which he delivered specialized public service development and training programs both in Estonia and internationally.
Maria-Theresa Norn is Deputy Director and Associate Professor at DTU Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and affiliated researcher at Aarhus University. Her research focuses on science-based entrepreneurship and innovation, including how universities can create societal value from public research investments. She studies technology transfer, deep tech commercialisation, and how knowledge moves from laboratories to markets. With experience from science and innovation policy, consultancy, and academia, she combines research with practical perspectives on innovation policy design. She advises public and private organisations on research and innovation strategies. Her work is especially relevant to transformative innovation, mission-oriented policies, and how universities and public research can accelerate deep tech solutions in areas such as defence and societal challenges.
Wisdom Kanda is a Senior Associate Professor and Head of Unit at Linköping University, Sweden. His research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship for sustainability transitions, with particular attention to intermediation, circular economy, and the societal embedding of innovation. He is also active in the sustainability transitions research community through editorial work at the Journal of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
Rickard Stridh, Director of Center for Capability Development and Innovation, Swedish Defence University
Björn-Ola Linnér, Professor, Linköping University
Jenny Engström, Team Leader Impact Innovation, VINNOVA
Michal Miedzinski, European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Harald Rohracher, Professor, Linköping University; Chairman of the Board of SIRI
Magnus Johansson, Research leader, RISE
Hans Hellsmark, Associate Professor at Chalmers and coordinator of Chalmers Initiative for Innovation and Sustainability Transitions
Emily Wise, Project manager and researcher, Lund University
2025 Symposium
Design and Implementation of Transformative Innovation Policy
On 8 October 2025, SIRI held its second symposium in Gothenburg, bringing together colleagues from research, policy, and practice to discuss how we can design and implement transformative innovation policy in meaningful and practical ways.
Insights and reflections
The symposium opened with a warm welcome from Joanna Franzén (Vinnova) and a thoughtful keynote by Mats Benner (Lund University), who reminded us how transformation requires both courage and humility.
The panel discussions that followed raised important questions about how to translate ideas of transformative innovation into policy practice — and how to measure change in ways that truly matter.
In the afternoon, we gathered in four parallel sessions:
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Building Transformative Capacity – moderated by Markus Grillitsch
How do we strengthen institutions, capabilities, and collaboration for long-term systemic change? -
Directionality & Evaluation – moderated by Magnus Johansson
How do we guide transformative change – and know if it’s working? -
Transforming Business & Economy – moderated by Derek Diener
How can business and economic models support sustainable change? -
Design & Engagement for Transformative Change – moderated by Carl Mossfeldt
How can design and engagement approaches shape better policies for transformation?
Looking Ahead
A sincere thank you to keynotes, panelists, session moderators, and all participants who contributed to the discussions throughout the day. Your insights and experiences are what make SIRI a living, evolving community. It’s this collective spirit that gives energy to our shared work on transformation.
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2024 Symposium
SIRI’s Inaugural Symposium: Building a Shared Vision of the Platform
On 24 October 2024, SIRI held its first annual meeting in Lund, bringing together a core group of researchers and practitioners to help chart the platform’s strategic direction and priorities. This full-day event served as an interactive forum for sharing ongoing work, exploring key themes to refine SIRI’s mission, and identifying opportunities for impactful contributions.
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Insights and Reflections on “Research in Interaction”
The day started with an inspirational address by Per Mickwitz, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Lund University. Per highlighted the unique opportunities and challenges associated with research in interaction—research conducted in close partnership between academia and practice. He stressed the importance of integrity, mutual understanding, and adaptability in research that aims to address complex societal challenges and influence real-world systems.
“Doing research in interaction between academia and practice has challenges, but doing it without interactions is far more challenging,” Per noted, underlining the imperative of collaborative structures that bridge sectoral boundaries to drive meaningful, actionable outcomes.
Following Per’s opening remarks, interactive panels and group discussions delved into the varying perceptions of “Research in Interaction” within academia and practice. Participants explored the conditions and structures needed to facilitate and normalize this approach and reflected on the vital role SIRI can play in supporting collaboration and fostering mutual trust.
The symposium also featured presentations on several projects with a “Research in Interaction” approach aimed at generating actionable insights that can drive sustainable and inclusive change. While still in an early stage, the showcased projects highlighted different areas and intervention points where close collaboration between academia and practice can take place, demonstrating the relevance of “Research in Interaction” across varied contexts.
Shaping SIRI’s Research Agenda
A key part of the symposium was a strategic review of SIRI's research agenda.
This agenda is structured around four themes:
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Theme 1: Disruptive Times / Transformative Landscape
Addressing system innovation and the dynamics of new industrial policies in an era of rapid global change. -
Theme 2: Entrepreneurial Experimentation and Transformation
Emphasizing the role of entrepreneurial ecosystems, policy experimentation, and global value chains in driving sustainable change. -
Theme 3: Transformative Innovation Policy
Focusing on policy design, instruments, and evaluation approaches that foster place-based, challenge-oriented innovations. -
Theme 4: Transformative Capabilities
Investigating the capabilities needed across various sectors and actors to serve as transformative forces for systemic change.
Participants critically engaged with these themes, considering how ongoing projects align with them, identifying gaps, and offering ideas on how to refine the agenda in ways that are both flexible and impactful.
Looking Ahead
We extend our thanks to all participants for their insights and contributions. As SIRI looks ahead, these discussions will be crucial in shaping upcoming initiatives and expanding the platform’s reach. We look forward to hosting more events, broadening our community, and enhancing our collective potential to foster systems innovation for sustainable change.