Projects instead of politics – The organisational road to innovation salvation

Across the public sector, activities are increasingly carried out in the form of temporary projects. Projects allow different actors and stakeholders to collaborate around specific challenges or target groups; outside the... [ view full abstract ]

Across the public sector, activities are increasingly carried out in the form of temporary projects. Projects allow different actors and stakeholders to collaborate around specific challenges or target groups; outside the everyday silos and with external funding, new ideas can be developed and implemented on a limited scale. Although the proliferation of public-sector projects is widely acknowledged – as indicated by the concept of ‘projectification’ – our understanding of the causes as well as implications of projects is still limited. In particular, there is a need for more critical debate about projectification, and especially its political implications. In this paper, projectification is described in relation to the Swedish discourse on public-sector innovation. Innovation, I argue, is an important driver of projectification; projects are seen as appropriate for undertaking innovations on a limited scale, and they are often the preferred organizational form in order to receive external funding. More importantly, however, the discourse of innovation represents a third way of public-sector organisation, beyond the troublesome bureaucracy and the much-criticised NPM-reforms, and projects are de default organisation of this third way. Projects thus replace politics as the means to address social issues, resulting in a de-politicisation of the public sector.

Key concepts: innovation, projectification, public sector, Sweden