Innovation Support System & Public Sector

In the innovation ecosystem, the support system and the intermediaries aim to create the best conditions for value creation, knowledge transfer, and for lasting and trusting collaborations. Designing that structure well requires experience of the innovation process and knowledge of how to navigate legal regulations such as State Aid rules and the requirements of the EU Data Act, as well as a solid and practical understanding of intellectual assets – which ultimately determines whether value creation is enabled or lost.

Sweden and the EU invest billions annually in programmes and structures designed to strengthen innovation capacity and long-term competitiveness. Public agencies, intermediaries, incubators, cluster organisations and regional development actors play a critical role in the innovation ecosystem.

Intellectual assets are the building blocks of innovation and the foundation for value creation. Yet making them operational – moving from having an asset to being able to govern, position and leverage it – requires a practical understanding that is foundational to achieving the full effect of the programmes, funding schemes and support initiatives being launched.

Operating in this space also requires navigating a complex regulatory landscape. EU State Aid rules, the EU AI Act, the EU Data Act, public procurement regulations and other national law are among the frameworks that shape what support structures can look like – and what room they leave for creative structuring. IAM helps public actors understand these frameworks in practice: what to be aware of, where they constrain and where they leave room.

For policymakers and system designers, IAM brings a perspective that is both legally precise and operationally grounded: an understanding of where frameworks succeed, where they create friction, and how they can be better designed to serve the commercial realities of the start-ups, scale-ups and R&D-intensive industries they are meant to support.