The Actors Involved in Innovation Processes and Collaboration – A Case Study of Eight Finnish Municipalities

Abstract

This study observes the roles of the different actors involved in the processes of innovation. The theoretical framework on which this study is based deals mainly with the idea of collaborative innovation. This is a case study of eight Finnish municipalities (Hattula, Hollola, Hämeenlinna, Kuusamo, Pudasjärvi, Raahe, Rovaniemi and Salo) and their innovation processes. The research question is: how did collaboration occur between the diverse actors during the observed development processes? The main data of this article emanates from the workshops held in these eight municipalities. Four groups of actors emerge in the empirical analysis: key actors, actors within the municipal organization, actors within the municipality and actors outside the municipality. The roles of promoters, coordinators and leaders of innovation processes and municipal management were highlighted. These key actors have the opportunities to promote and organize collaboration in the innovation processes. Collaborative practices in innovation processes are seen, as an important aim and the importance of including different stakeholders is quite widely understood. However, it seems that a systematic approach towards collaboration in these processes is lacking and in some cases the instruments for collaboration might be lacking.