The "Medborgarportalen" is an innovation challenge from Hammarö municipality in collaboration with Compare. The purpose is to investigate the possibility of procuring a development project for a digital service that facilitates how the municipality can make information available to residents in an individually tailored and efficient way. As a first step, Hammarö is now issuing a so-called RFI, request for information.

The purpose is to start a dialogue with innovative companies and gather information about which technology, which ideas, or existing solutions can meet the need.

Missing existing solution on the market

Mia Hernell Blomqvist, development manager at the social administration in Hammarö, says that the idea has developed successively:

- You could say that we anticipated the AI boom a little before it arrived. We have done a large environmental analysis, but have been equally disappointed every time because the solutions available were not what we were looking for.

Hammarö's website needs to cover the needs of all municipal operations, which can make the mass of information difficult to access. The goal is therefore to create a service that better sees the individual's needs, for example based on personal information, and history from previously visited pages on the municipality's website.

- Actually, this is nothing new, basically all e-commerce sites have such adaptations - but they are not used on municipal websites. We must respect personal privacy - but I think most people think it would be nice to find what is most relevant to them. Regardless of whether it concerns social services or building permits, says Mia Hernell Blomqvist and continues:

- It should be easy to do the right thing, and we think that if the service is sufficiently neat, efficient and adapted, the site will be something more people want to use. There is also a demographic context where there are fewer of us in the public sector who are supposed to help more and more people.

Process where several companies can participate in the development

A potential procurement in the next stage is planned to be carried out according to the so-called Demand Acceleration methodology. In short, this means that you are procuring an innovation project, not a ready-made solution. Several companies can then participate to develop the digital service in close collaboration with the municipality.

A key part of the methodology is that the services that are developed must also be able to be scaled up on the market. The business viability contributes to the services being able to live on and develop, which at the same time benefits the municipality that procures the service first.

- We have received a lot of attention from other municipalities about the need. In my dream world, some company understands that this is a little gold mine. With some adaptation, such a solution can be taken forward to almost all municipalities, because the needs of the residents are very similar, says Mia Hernell Blomqvist.

Carolin Maule is Compare's process manager in the collaboration with Hammarö. She is looking forward to an exciting journey, where a potential solution can reverberate far beyond Värmland's borders.

Drives development to the benefit of many municipalities

The Demand Acceleration methodology has been created within the DigitalWell Arena, where the focus is on supporting innovation of digital health services. The application of the procurement methodology is now also beginning to seep out to areas outside the direct health sphere, in addition to Hammarö's initiative, for example Helsingborg new methods to reduce their climate footprint.

- The methodology is general and contributes to creating business opportunities where the public sector and companies can drive innovation together. From our perspective, it is extra fun that a municipality in Värmland wants to drive the development of a digital service that can benefit all municipalities, says Carolin Maule, Transformation Manager at Compare.

• Here you will find more information on how your company can participate
• Read more about the Demand Acceleration methodology