Environmental scanning and analysis in Swedish central government agencies

Abstract

Most government agencies have some form of environmental scanning, but few have dedicated departments or full-time staff responsible for analysis. The level of ambition varies greatly from one organisation to another, and in several cases activities are delegat- ed to personnel without sufficient experience in the field. Consultants have been important in helping to start the activities, and most agencies have hired them. We note that environment scanning/analysis is more formally organised when authorities’ core operations include societal risks and threats, or have analytical purposes. When core activities relate to national issues or a limited sector, environment scanning tends to be more informal. But it also seems to be an activity that is constantly changing. The difficulties in institutionalising these functions, along with a lack of willingness to do so, have proved to be significant.