User-Driven Innovation - Context and Cases in the Nordic Region

The nature of innovation is changing. An increasingly globalized society, enabled by information and communication technologies (ICT), has changed the process of value creation and shifted the balance of power between firms and individual consumers – or users. Companies can no longer rely solely on operational efficiency or technological superiority in order to create a competitive advantage.

Today, companies must also find ways to define and deliver unique experiences, together with users, in order to survive. However, this requires a paradigm shift – both a change in mindset and adjustments to current working practices.

In this report, the process of defining unique experiences together with users is referred to as user-driven innovation. User-driven innovation encompasses both an understanding of true user needs and a systematic involvement of users in the innovation process.

The report explains a number of market forces and academic underpinnings, and presents an overview of the context regarding user-driven innovation in each of the five Nordic countries. The report also presents concrete examples of how companies employ user-driven innovation processes.

Finally, the report suggests a number of policy-level activities which could be undertaken to strengthen both the understanding and practical competencies related to user-driven innovation.

Project duration: September 2007 - June 2008

Project manager:
Emily Wise, Consultant and Research Fellow, Research Policy Institute, Sweden


Nordic focus on user-driven innovation
In November 2006, the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) launched a call for proposals under the theme of ‘user-driven innovation’ (UDI). This is one of six projects that were selected and approved for financing. These projects were kicked-off in June 2007. For more information on the other five projects, see links below.