The Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot 2025 was held from 21 to 24 October in Taipei. The conference brought together government representatives, businesses, researchers and civil society to promote collaboration and solutions in the circular economy.

We asked Lina Svenberg four questions to capture the interest that procurement-friendly innovation management has generated in the international arena.

What is it about your work that they were curious to know more about in Taiwan?

– Taiwan is in the process of developing a circular economy roadmap for 2050, which is planned to be launched in 2026. They had read about our work on Demand Acceleration and within UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Therefore, they wanted my input on policy developments in the EU related to circular procurement – both what is the state of the art, what remains to be done and what needs we see ahead.

What reactions did you encounter after your presentation?
– The most obvious was how human the challenges are – both in policy development and in procurement. The fear of making mistakes, but at the same time a desire to really be part of the change.

– Many also appreciated the perspective of seeing procurement as a tool to drive innovation. It raised a lot of interest in how it can work in practice. It is also a key perspective when we want to drive circularity: experimentally exploring how a resource can create value – and for whom. It differs from the traditional way of looking at circular and innovation procurement.

Are there other ripples on these issues internationally?
– Yes, not least through our work within UNECE in recent years. We have led a workstream on Innovation-Enhancing Procurement and recently presented a policy paper in Geneva. This is now the basis for establishing a drafting team to develop international policy guidelines. This is an exciting development, and we see a great interest in these issues among UNECE member countries.

How does it feel to meet this interest?
– It is very inspiring to see how the seed that was sown in Karlstad and Värmland is now nourishing new collaborations, policy development and exchange of experience in other parts of the world!

In 2022, Karlstad Municipality conducted the first procurement using the Demand Acceleration methodology. The result was a unique VR solution, ViroteaEd, which trains health and social care staff to meet people with cognitive challenges.

Since its launch in Karlstad two and a half years ago, ViroteaEd has spread rapidly to nearly 40 public and private healthcare providers. In addition, three more public procurements have been carried out with the support of the Demand Acceleration methodology in Hammarö, Helsingborg and one more in Karlstad.

The film below gives an insight into what happened in Karlstad – and how both the method and the solution made a difference.

From test in Karlstad to national dissemination

Unlike traditional procurement, Demand Acceleration is based on users and businesses exploring together how to meet business needs, in a way that also results in a solution that can be shared.

– One of the central ideas of Demand Acceleration is precisely that the services developed are also given the conditions to spread further. When the public sector develops solutions in-house, or owns and manages them, it is often difficult to reach beyond a single municipality or region. By using procurement as a tool, we instead open up for innovations that can grow and create greater value,” says Lina Svensberg, Innovation Manager at DigitalWell Arena.

How procurement becomes a tool for innovation

Karlstad Municipality’s experience shows that public procurement can be more than a purchasing process – it can be a tool to drive innovation. Demand Acceleration is a methodology to do just that, with the potential to transform how new digital solutions emerge and are used across Sweden.

According to Lina Svensberg, the fact that the very first service would achieve such great success is still beyond all expectations:

– Although we at DigitalWell Arena recognised the potential of the methodology, the development has been incredibly gratifying. Here, the support of Karlstad Municipality has been absolutely crucial to the development of the framework – from procurement experts to the commitment of the organisation. If they hadn’t dared to test it in a real procurement, there would have been a great risk that we would have got stuck in theory.

And the journey continues. Several new procurements are already in the pipeline, in areas far beyond health and social care. The Demand Acceleration methodology has also attracted international interest, including through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Open City was launched in Karlstad municipality in October 2024 to make the city’s range of activities more inclusive. So far, the service has reached around 400 users.

Open City is a result of Karlstad’s second procurement, carried out with the support of the Demand Acceleration framework. Developed within the DigitalWell Arena, the framework enables the public sector to use procurement to drive innovation processes. Instead of demanding a ready-made solution, a collaborative innovation programme is procured, in which several companies can participate.

Cooperation where companies take the service further

We Know It was the company that was ultimately awarded the development contract to design the Open City solution that was considered to best meet Karlstad’s needs. It is also the company that owns and manages the service, so that it can be spread to more customers and developed over time.

“We Know It and Karlstad have done a fantastic job of developing the service together, so it is gratifying that Trollhättan also sees the potential in it to improve the quality of life for people with cognitive challenges,” says Carolin Maule, Innovation Manager at DigitalWell Arena, which led the process of Karlstad’s procurement.

Watch the film that describes the background to the creation of the service: