Danish Model for Mission-Driven Government
Denmark—like many other countries—faces a generation of societal challenges characterized by high complexity and a long time horizon. In research, these challenges are referred to as “wicked problems.” When confronting wicked problems, the traditional sector-based governance model is challenged because it is rarely designed to handle cross-cutting issues where causes and solutions are unclear.
For this reason , many OECD countries are experimenting with a governance policy based on mission-driven government, which is designed to address wicked problems. Currently, this is happening particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom.
This report concludes that a model for mission-driven government can be used as an operational supplement to existing governance in Denmark within the existing administrative structure. However, particular attention must be paid to two issues in particular—(i) when and (ii) how mission-driven government can be implemented.