IVA's President: Some thoughts on a Swedish Minister for Technology

Dear IVA Friends, 

Last Tuesday, IVA welcomed over 100 members of the Swedish Parliament and many researchers to our annual gathering of the network “Members of Parliament and Researchers,” commonly called RIFO. As far as I know, we have never had so many members of the Swedish Parliament attend this event. The fact that so many decision-makers took the time to come to our academy to hear about Sweden's progress in science and technology, and our initative Swedish Futures, gives me hope for both democracy and the future.

Founded in 1959, RIFO is a forum for contact and knowledge exchange between members of parliament and researchers. Its goal is to foster understanding and build bridges between politics and science. RIFO is singular in this aspect. None of our sister academies around the world maintains such close contact with decision-makers (or with the business community) as IVA. From its start, IVA’s leadership has always focused strongly on building and maintaining these ties.

Last week, Politico highlighted a survey conducted by Ipsos in nine countries (the US, the UK, and seven European countries). The survey shows that almost half of voters believe democracy is “broken” and that they have no confidence in decision-makers. Sweden is the shining exception. In Sweden, 65 percent are satisfied with democracy.

Next week, one of this year's winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Professor Joel Mokyr, will visit IVA. Among other topics, we will discuss his research on what drives growth. Mokyr believes that the interaction between technological innovation and a culture of curiosity are the driving forces behind sustained economic growth. I will return to this topic in more detail in future newsletters.

Today, I would like to touch on the role of technology in driving growth and development. In the global tech race, Europe lags behind both China and the US. This race is as much about inventing new technologies as it is about disseminating and using them widely in society.

The role of technology in driving growth has never been more prominent than today. Technology is absolutely crucial—not only for growth, but also for security and the transition to a sustainable society. Technology creates the conditions for a better society, but, importantly, it does not set the agenda itself. It is we humans and our societies that give technology meaning and direction.

I had many interesting conversations with members of parliament from all parties at RIFO. Their keen interest in technology and science led me to reflect on role and place of

technology in our country's administrative model. Which committee is responsible for technological development in Sweden? Which minister and which department?

Since the introduction of the unicameral parliament in 1971, the Riksdag’s committee structure has essentially remained the same. There are many reasons for stability in the Riksdag's working methods, but as reality changes, there are also reasons to pause and take stock. It is concerning that none of the Riksdag's 15 committees has specific responsibility for technology and technological development. Nor does the more flexible departmental structure in the Government Offices have a designated department or minister for technological development. The government of former Prime Minister Stefan Löfven had a Minister for Innovation, which is a good start.

Several countries have special parliamentary committees for technological development: Germany, the US, China, the UK, as well as several countries in Asia and the Middle East. The same applies to ministerial posts for technological development: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the UK, and several others have a special minister for this. In the 1970s, the US Congress established an Office for Technology Assessment (OTA). Since 1990, the German parliament, similarly, has had the Büro für Technologiefolgen-Abschätzung (Office of Technology Assessment). In Finland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has identified the country's priorities for international technology policy and appointed a special envoy for technology.

Arguably, a country’s administrative model need not have a large impact on outcomes, but in this critical time of global tech competition, perhaps a designated Committee or Minister for Technology could be of advantage for Sweden.

Some thoughts from IVA´s President are published in Swedish in IVA's newsletter, and in English on IVA's LinkedIn.