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<p>It is incredibly exciting and a great honour to have been put forward by the Nominating Committee and given the confidence of the Programme Board to take on this important role, especially at a time when the programme is entering a new phase. We are moving from focusing primarily on calls for proposals and funding of IoT projects to now prioritising efforts to ensure the preservation and up-scaling of the valuable results, experiences and knowledge generated by the 140 projects and the SEK 350 million in funding provided through the programme.</p>
<p>At the same time, I am approaching this role with great humility. The very positive evaluation of the 9 years of the programme has set a high level of ambition, both for the Board and the Programme Office. Our chosen exit strategy goes far beyond submitting a final report in an archive – it seeks to lay the foundation for long-term impact and benefit.</p>
<h3>Could you tell us a little more about yourself and your background?</h3>
<p>I currently work as a senior advisor in the public sector at Knowit Insight West in Gothenburg, where I have been for just over a year. My area of expertise is coaching municipalities and municipal companies in improving their ability to adapt through digitalisation and innovation. In practice, this involves developing culture, structure and capacity to accelerate the change process. I am one of Knowit’s representatives in Adda’s partner programme for suppliers, which promotes digital maturity, as well as in IoT Sweden’s sister programme Viable Cities, a programme promoting climate-neutral cities in which Knowit is a member organisation. In addition to this, I am currently chair of the Swedish computer society’s local chapter, Dataföreningen Västra, and a board member of the national society, Dataföreningen i Sverige.</p>
<h3>What did you work with before that?</h3>
<p>Previously, I spent seven years working as an innovation developer in Uddevalla Municipality, where I was part of the Municipal Management Office and the Sustainable Growth Department. My role centred around strengthening innovation capacity in the public sector. Among other duties, I led iCare4Fyrbodal, a project conducted by Vinnova to foster innovation in the public sector, as well as the municipal council’s assignment to develop a group-wide growth and transition strategy.</p>
<h3>You have been active in many different fields. Could you tell us more about this?</h3>
<p>Yes, my background is generally interdisciplinary. I began my career as a registered nurse and midwife. I’ve also worked as an IT consultant, eHealth research coordinator at the Department of Applied IT (Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg), in start-up companies and as an entrepreneur. In addition, I’ve run cross-border networks as part of Dataföreningen, participated in the SIS Standardisation Committee for Innovation Management and been an expert assessor in Vinnova’s calls for proposals in IoT for societal benefit and AI in municipalities and civil society.</p>
<h3>What will you contribute in your new role as board chair of IoT Sweden?</h3>
<p>My main contribution is my systems perspective on IoT/digitisation and my focus on implementation and impact capture. The aim is to strengthen organisational capacity to use digital technology as a catalyst for smarter welfare and sustainable societal development. I am not a technical expert at the detail level – we have many competent technical experts on the Board. What I contribute is knowledge from a municipal group perspective based on strategic governance and management. I think this can be valuable in the phase of the programme we are now in.</p>
<h3>IoT Sweden is a stakeholder-driven innovation programme, with representatives from municipalities, regions, companies and research institutes on the Board. What are the advantages of this?</h3>
<p>It’s a fantastic asset! For one, in terms of all the valuable skills and perspectives around the table, which helps to create exciting and challenging dialogues, thereby refining our work. Secondly, because of the breadth of contacts and networks that the Board possesses, which will be extremely important in this final phase for the dissemination, scaling and further development of the results. The Board has now been bolstered with new, valuable forces.</p>
<h3>IoT Sweden works with IoT applications in the public sector. But AI is currently high on the agenda and many people are not talking about IoT. How are IoT and AI connected, and is a continuation of the programme needed?</h3>
<p>I think it will be important for us to highlight the interdependence that exists between IoT and AI, where one plus one equals three. IoT collects large amounts of data via sensors, cameras and connected gadgets that can provide a real-time picture of municipalities’ resources and needs. AI, on the other hand, requires large amounts of data as fuel to analyse, interpret and act on data in real time. The combination offers a powerful tool for municipalities to become more data-driven, efficient and sustainable. Not least through green transition supported by digitalisation (Twin Transition).</p>
<h3>What are you looking forward to most in your new role?</h3>
<p>Getting started! To work together to shine the spotlight on concrete results for further refinement and utilisation. Only then can they be characterised as innovations. Otherwise, by definition, it’s just a good idea.</p>


Porträtt på Angelica Hafström, ny styrelseordförande för IoT Sverige.

After previously serving as a board member of Internet of Things (IoT) Sweden, Angelica Hafström have now been elected to chair the Board.

Angelica Hafström named new board chair of IoT Sweden - IoT Sverige

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News

Angelica Hafström named new board chair of IoT Sweden

IoT Sverige vill öka användningen av sakernas internet i offentlig sektor.

IoT Sverige

<p>There is no shortage of challenges when it comes to building a robust and secure IoT infrastructure in a city. Also, doing this in the midst of a raging war puts many things on edge.</p>
<p>During the third and last day of the smart city fair in Barcelona, IoT Sweden arranged a panel discussion together with Kiev. Catrin Ditz moderated the event and began by talking to Oleks Maistrenko from the city of Kiev. Before the war broke out, Kiev had built a digital infrastructure and had a citizen app that could be used to buy bus tickets, find parking spaces and the like.</p>
<p>&#8211; We could never have guessed that this app would become part of Kiev&#8217;s digital resilience. Today, the app is used for completely different things, says Oleks Maistrenko.</p>
<p>This involves, for example, receiving notifications about where there are pharmacies with available medicine, where there are free and available shelters, and more. So a completely different area of use than the original idea with the application.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23979" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23979" style="width: 273px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-23979 size-medium" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Oleks-Maistrenko2--273x300.jpg" alt="Porträttbild på Oleks Maistrenko, Kiev." width="273" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Oleks-Maistrenko2--273x300.jpg 273w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Oleks-Maistrenko2--768x843.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Oleks-Maistrenko2-.jpg 899w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23979" class="wp-caption-text">Oleks Maistrenko, Kyiv.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Manage contingencies with IoT</h2>
<p>Digital resilience is about systems being able to handle digital threats, disruptions and unforeseen changes. In Kyiv, the use of IoT applications has played a crucial role in building the city&#8217;s digital resilience. A key factor is being able to access real-time data.</p>
<p>&#8211; There are so many variations of sensors that can be connected and used for many different things. We use sensors to measure sound, air and flows of people, for example, says Oleks Maistrenko.</p>
<p>The variety of sensor solutions is also a challenge as there are several different systems to be managed and tested (with unpredictable scenarios in mind). Some sensor solutions to measure ecological parameters are also hampered by missile impacts that cause both sound and air changes.</p>
<h2>Relying on data is critical</h2>
<p>A key word for success with the Kiev project is to create trust in the data that is generated. Oleks Maistrenko believes that it has been absolutely crucial that users trust the information displayed in the app. The residents are not interested in the technology but in getting help with various needs they have.</p>
<p>Another crucial part of the resident app deals with cyber security. Oleks says that the system is exposed to many attacks every day. The city of Kyiv has a security center that works systematically on cyber security issues.</p>
<p>&#8211; Safety has proven to be a critical aspect that could have been prioritized higher from the start, he says.</p>
<p>Kyiv participates in international fairs and cooperates with other cities and universities to exchange experiences around IoT and smart social solutions.</p>
<p>&#8211; It means a lot to us to collaborate with other countries and cities around this issue. At the same time, I hope that no other cities will have to experience what we are experiencing right now, concludes Oleks Maistrenko.</p>
<p>The panel also included Maria Holm from the city of Stockholm, Britta Duve Hansen from the city of Helsingborg and Morten Holst from the company Innocode.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23954" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23954" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-23954 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-1024x624.jpg" alt="Paneldeltagare på IoT Sveriges seminarium." width="640" height="390" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-1024x624.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-300x183.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-768x468.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-1536x936.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Paneldeltagare-2048x1248.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23954" class="wp-caption-text">Oleks Maistrenko, Kyiv, Britta Duve Hansen, City of Helsingborg, Catrin Ditz, IoT Sweden, Maria Holm, City of Stockholm and Morten Holst, Innocode.</figcaption></figure>


During the third and last day of the smart city fair in Barcelona, IoT Sweden arranged a panel discussion together with Kiev.

IoT for digital resilience in Kyiv - IoT Sverige

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IoT for digital resilience in Kyiv

<p>Under the somewhat provocative workshop title “the funeral of pilot projects” we gathered a very representative and engaged audience mainly from Nordics and the Netherlands. We wanted to discuss and identify obstacles why pilot projects in the public sector seldom scales and turn into successful implementation and rollout across the public users. The background is the need for innovation in order to further streamline the public sector to keep up with the growing demand (elderly population, climate challenges, crowded cities etcetera), without raising taxes and fees. Pilot project driving innovation is a commonly used tool and vehicle for this streamlining.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23903" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23903" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-23903 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-1024x347.jpg" alt="Workshopdeltagare" width="640" height="217" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-1024x347.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-300x102.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-768x260.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-1536x521.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Workshop-2048x695.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23903" class="wp-caption-text">Well visited workshop arranged by IoT Sweden and AeroVision.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Success and scaling are also important to draw attention from entrepreneurs and investors complementing the public actors and their scarce resources. Entrepreneurs and investors are quick movers and tend to cluster, like omnivores and shoals of herring, close to where the market opportunity is. The overall prospect looks promising though. In Europe, public spending is 40-50 % of GDP, half the economy, so why this under performance? And can we do something about it?</p>
<h2>Technology is not the challenge</h2>
<p>First of all, there was a very clear consensus among the workshop audience that technology is not the challenge. Technology such as IoT, AI, automation and biotech, holds promises to unlock untapped potential, and even though technology in some cases are early stage, already a lot can be done.</p>
<p>Instead, we identified three major obstacles, and the consensus among the discussion groups were almost unanimously.</p>
<p>1. Engagement of the problem owner<br />
2. Risk appetite in the public sector<br />
3. Implementation affecting processes and organization (adoption)</p>
<p>In a way these three identified obstacles can be summarized in culture. The private innovation arena, with its people, competencies, processes and capital has evolved from a rather immature venture scene and innovation culture late 90-ies, in the first wave of the IT boom, to foster worldwide recognized scale ups from both the Netherlands and the Nordics.<br />
The public sector seems not to have kept up with their counterparts from the private venture scene even though efforts have been made. The public sector needs to continue its efforts and to go from innovation system to innovation culture. People/leadership not manuals and steering documents rule. It’s a journey well worth the effort.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23891" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23891" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-23891 size-large" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-1024x766.jpg" alt="Bild på Magnus Fransson och Leon Hendriks." width="640" height="479" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-300x225.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-768x575.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-1536x1149.jpg 1536w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Magnus-and-Leon-hadshake-2048x1533.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23891" class="wp-caption-text">Magnus Fransson and Leon Hendriks.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Learn from each other to overcome the challenges</h2>
<p>This workshop kickstarted a new initiative to benchmark practices of implantation of innovation: what to learn from each other and how to overcome the challenges. IoT Sweden and AeroVision pick up this task to bring cities and stakeholders together in a European City Benchmark ‘how to create life after a pliot project’. This journey will continue in a European City Benchmark ‘how to create life after a pliot project’.</p>
<p>Join us and connect!</p>
<p>Barcelona, November 5th 2024</p>


A blogpost about why pilot project seldom scale. Thoughts from Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona where IoT Sweden participates.

The funeral of pilot projects - IoT Sverige

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The funeral of pilot projects

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<p>Internet of Things Sweden – IoT Sweden – started in 2014 when Internet of Things was a buzzword. The development of IoT has progressed rapidly since then, and today we question whether we even need to talk about the concept of the Internet of Things &#8211; most things are, to some extent, connected and integrated.</p>
<p>Catrin Ditz started as the programme director at IoT Sweden this autumn and will head the programme until it ends in 2026.</p>
<h2>Listen to the episode</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://iotsweden.podbean.com/e/meet-catrin-ditz-the-programme-director-of-iot-sweden/">Podbean</a></li>
<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fJAR2uvIdhzLD8AEjW2hW">Spotify</a></li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-catrin-ditz-the-programme-director-of-iot-sweden/id1667876226?i=1000638289788">Apple Podcasts</a></li>
</ul>
<figure id="attachment_20790" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20790" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-20790" src="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-300x300.jpg" alt="Catrin Ditz " width="300" height="300" srcset="https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-300x300.jpg 300w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-150x150.jpg 150w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version-768x767.jpg 768w, https://api.iotsverige.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Catrin-Ditz-english-version.jpg 814w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20790" class="wp-caption-text">Catrin Ditz. Programme Manager.</figcaption></figure>


In this podcast episode, you will meet Catrin Ditz, the Programme Director of IoT Sweden, about the use of IoT in public sector.