In 2018, the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation (KMD) became the first ministry to engage designers in the process of developing a White Paper. Halogen, along with Rambøll and Tinkr, was involved from start to finish.
The work on this particular White Paper diverged from traditional processes. It was an open and inclusive process where much of the content was developed iteratively, as it represented pioneering work for all parties involved. Halogen particularly contributed by facilitating and visualizing the work. This, among other things, improved the dialogue with interdisciplinary groups tasked with defining the measures.
The White Paper, to which the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency also contributed significantly, is built upon three main principles for innovation in the public sector:
Politicians must facilitate innovation: Provide freedom and incentives for new thinking.
Leaders must foster a culture of innovation: Create a culture where one dares to try, and learns from both successes and failures.
Public entities must collaborate more: Seek new forms of cooperation.
The completed White Paper, Meld. St. 30 (2019–2020) "An Innovative Public Sector - Culture, Leadership, and Competence," is Norway's first White Paper on innovation. It quickly led to new initiatives and forms of collaboration, and was among the ten most downloaded documents on regjeringen.no in the autumn of 2020, with over 3,500 downloads. Over 1,000 extra print copies were also produced.

Adrian Michalak-Paulsen
Specialist
adrian.michalak-paulsen@halogen.no