Karlstad leads the way – digital service to make the city more inclusive

The number of people with cognitive impairment in Sweden today is likely more than 200,000. This group is expected to nearly double by 2050, posing a major challenge for society. In Karlstad, around 700 people within the target group receive support under LSS, the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments.

These individuals often need adapted information and support to manage independently and participate in society. The purpose of Karlstad’s procurement “Guidance in the City” has therefore been to procure a digital service that offers greater security, inclusion, and contributes to increased independence.

If guidance can increasingly be provided digitally, it also frees up resources in the public sector, while leading to greater security and independence for family members.

Took their own initiative to find a solution

Karlstad had long been looking for tools to meet this need, but when they could not find what they were looking for, they took their own initiative. Now, the development of an entirely new service has been procured.

Through a new app, the target group will receive clear instructions via text, audio, or video support on how to participate in various activities. Initially, guides have been created for visiting Sundstabadet (the local swimming facility), the city library, and a café. In the longer term, the ambition is to create digital guides for a wide range of activities, as well as the possibility for private actors to make their operations more accessible with the support of the service.

– This enables the target group to live life as normally as possible, and through the application gain strategies and tools to do things on their own. Either by learning in advance what they need to know about the activity, or by using the service on-site as a checklist. Our view is that this should both enhance value for the individual and enable our staff to be where they are needed most, says Ann-Sophie Gustafsson, Development Manager at the Health and Social Care Administration in Karlstad Municipality.

We Know It is the company that will develop the final product, which is expected to be available in October.

– We probably weren’t fully aware of the extent of the need, as it’s something of a silent problem. It has been incredibly rewarding to drive this process and we feel proud to be part of it, says Lucas Olsson, Project Manager at We Know It.

Multiple companies can be procured to shape the solution

The procurement has been carried out in line with the Demand Acceleration framework, developed within DigitalWell Arena together with Karlstad Municipality. In short, this means that new services and products are created in collaboration between the public sector and innovative companies, and the solutions should be able to spread to more customers.

Compared to a traditional procurement, this also means that the municipality’s own requirements specification takes a back seat – instead, services and products are shaped iteratively in collaboration between the companies and the public customer. To meet the requirements under LOU (the Public Procurement Act), all companies participating in the various phases are procured, with compensation initially low and gradually increasing.

Interest both within and beyond Sweden

Karlstad was the first in the country to apply the new Demand Acceleration framework. The very first procurement was carried out in 2022 and resulted in a VR service (ViroteaED) that trains care staff in how best to meet people with cognitive impairment. The service has spread to a wide range of customers and is used today both within municipalities and in the training of care staff.

Several other municipalities and organisations have since developed their own processes based on the Demand Acceleration framework, for example the City of Helsingborg, Karolinska University Hospital, and Hammarö Municipality. The methodology has also attracted international attention from both UNECE and the OECD.