ASSISTS – will strengthen collaboration in future transformation projects for a sustainable society

With the expansion of the Hallsberg-Degerön double track as an innovation platform, ASSISTS is developing and testing new forms of collaboration. The project aims to deliver tools and knowledge that can help future transformation projects create added value and accelerate the transition to sustainable transport and a sustainable society.

Extensive and rapid changes are needed to achieve a sustainable transition. Electrification, digitalization and smart mobility solutions are important parts of the development, but to achieve full effect, better collaboration between public actors, business and citizens is also needed. ASSISTS is taking on this challenge by developing, testing and disseminating knowledge about forms of collaboration that can strengthen this transition work.

The project is based on a systems perspective where transport infrastructure, mobility, energy and social development are seen as parts of the same whole. The goal is to leave behind working methods where planning takes place in silos and instead create forms of collaboration that make it possible to identify synergies, avoid sub-optimization and take into account the needs and perspectives of different actors.

The development environment is the expansion of the double track between Hallsberg and Degerön, part of the Linköping-Örebro route. The investment will increase the capacity for freight transport and create better conditions for passenger traffic through shorter travel times. At the same time, the project provides a unique opportunity to explore how large infrastructure investments can act as catalysts for broader societal transformation.

In ASSISTS, the project partners will test and evaluate different forms of cross-sectoral collaboration, public multi-level collaboration and citizen dialogue. Through workshops, collaboration processes and the development of practical tools, the project will contribute new knowledge about which working methods work best in different contexts and stages.

The project builds on experiences from the SALTO research project and will result in methods, tools, guides and recommendations that can also be used in other transformation projects around Sweden. The ambition is that the knowledge will live on in participating organizations and contribute to sustainable effects long after the project has ended.