Research project with Karlstad municipality set to promote informed choices, prioritisations, and decisions

The creation of mobility and knowledge exchange is key in any organisation. In the research project Innovation Exchange Karlstad (INEKA), Johan Netz at the Karlstad Business School will learn about the decision-making processes of Karlstad municipality.

To Johan Netz, senior lecturer in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at Service Research Center (CTF), the INEKA project is about advancing knowledge through a novel contextual perspective on research concerning decision-making. To the municipality, it is about developing the organisational knowledge of how the steering of decision-making processes can affect their outcomes.

- I will get to know a different organisation to not only develop my skills but also share the knowledge we have at Karlstad Business School, says Johan Netz. This will be 18 months with focus on mobility and knowledge exchange where I can offer input based on research findings. We can then share what we learn from this partnership with similar organisations through research articles and conference papers.

The project goal is to help Karlstad municipality at an overarching level to improve their ability to make:

Informed choices
Informed prioritisations
Informed decisions

- The municipality is a complex organisation where political decisions, legal provisions, and citizens all have to be considered. I think my knowledge can help ensure a good ratio.

The project has only just started, and Johan Netz will spend the initial phase learning the ins and outs of the municipal organisation.

- I need to understand the processes at work in the municipality. To do that, I will try to be present in their offices as much as possible. By being there and having the chance to sit in on meetings and observe day-to-day operations, I hope to learn more about their decision-making processes as well as make connections for future partnerships.

Why Karlstad municipality?

- A municipal organisation affects everyone in that community in both big and small ways. Adding the political dimension to that makes it highly interesting to study the degree of complexity in the decision-making. I have previously worked mainly with major industrial enterprises, so I am very eager to find out more about the municipal decision-making processes.