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The municipality in 2030 – five areas that will shape the coming years
What will the municipality look like in 2030? What issues will shape the daily lives of employees and citizens, and what do municipalities need to start thinking about today? We look a few years ahead and take a closer look at five issues that could have a major impact on the municipality of the future.
An aging population is changing the needs of the welfare system. There is already a shortage of skilled workers. Demands for safety and preparedness are increasing. At the same time, citizens expect municipal services to be simple, accessible, and digital.
When we look at municipal plans and the national initiatives charting the course toward 2030, five areas in particular stand out:
- efficiency improvements and smarter work methods
- skills supply
- digitalization and AI
- safety and preparedness
- accessibility and inclusion
These areas are closely interrelated. How municipalities use technology affects everything from efficiency and workforce development to safety and the ability to provide accessible services. So what do Sweden’s municipalities need to prioritize as they move toward 2030?
Improving efficiency in the municipality isn’t just about saving money. It’s also about using time and resources where they are most effective.
SKR’s economic report from May 2026 External link, opens in new window. points to a continued need for transformation in municipalities. One key factor is demographics: as different age groups grow or shrink, the needs for municipal services also change. Municipalities therefore need to continuously adapt both their operations and resources to changing needs.
This increases the need to free up time from tasks that do not require an employee’s expertise. E-services, automated processes, and digital self-service can, for example, reduce the administrative burden associated with matters such as school transportation, building permits, or various forms of assistance.
But improving efficiency is also about making it easier for citizens to navigate the municipal system. Anyone who wants to apply for something or track a case should not have to know which department is responsible for what. By consolidating information, services, and ongoing cases into a single digital portal, the municipality can both simplify the process for citizens and reduce the need for manual inquiries and contacts.
One of the biggest challenges facing municipalities through 2030 is the aging population. More older adults will need social services, while the labor force is not growing at a corresponding rate.
SKR estimates External link, opens in new window. that, due to demographic trends, the need for employees in elder care will increase by approximately 66,000 people by 2033, assuming that work practices and other conditions remain unchanged.
This is a challenge that cannot be solved through digitization alone. People are needed where expertise, care, and judgment make the greatest difference. That is precisely why the question of how working hours are used is so important. SKR highlights, among other things, changes in work methods, the proper use of skills, and the potential of technology as key elements in ensuring a sufficient supply of skilled workers.
Small time savings can have a major impact when multiplied across many employees. A simple example: If 1,000 employees save five minutes searching for information each workweek, that amounts to over 4,000 working hours in a year.
Of course, this doesn’t solve the skills shortage. But it shows why things that may seem small—a better search function, clearer procedures, or information that’s easy to find—make a difference on a large scale.
In a short period of time, AI has gone from being experimental to being used in municipalities’ day-to-day operations.
At the same time,Digg’s follow-up External link, opens in new window. shows that its use is uneven. In a 2025 survey, 9 percent of the responding municipalities reported that AI was used broadly throughout the municipality, 27 percent in certain departments, and 60 percent in individual functions or operations.
The key question moving forward, therefore, may not be how much AI a municipality uses, but rather what AI is used for and what benefits it creates.
AI in municipal operations can, for example, be used to:
- summarize and process information
- help employees find the right information
- write and improve texts
- test content for plain language
- gather information from multiple sources
- reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks
The municipality of Hallstahammar is an example of how AI can be used in everyday life. Among other things, the municipality uses AI to write and summarize texts, assess content for clarity, and gather information from multiple sources. On the intranet’s HR pages, the technology is used to make rule-based information easier for employees to understand.
Municipalities are undergoing digital transformation in an increasingly uncertain global environment. As a result, cybersecurity and digital preparedness are becoming an increasingly important part of municipal operations.
This also changes the demands placed on the municipality’s digital channels. The website and intranet are not only important when everything is working properly; they also need to be part of the contingency plan when they are not.
The municipality of Kalix learned this firsthand after the 2021 cyberattack. When the municipality’s network had to be shut down, access to the locally operated website and intranet was also lost. The municipality needed to quickly establish new digital communication channels.
This raises some very concrete questions:
- How does the municipality communicate if its regular systems are down?
- Which digital channels are still available?
- Where is the information located?
- What technical dependencies exist between the systems?
- How quickly can citizens and employees be reached?
Security and digital preparedness are therefore not merely IT issues. They are essential for ensuring that the municipality’s operations and communications continue to function even during a disruption or crisis.
The municipality of 2030 will likely be more digital than it is today. As more services and a greater portion of interactions with the municipality shift to digital channels, digital accessibility and usability will become even more important.
A digital service that people do not understand or cannot use does not automatically lead to greater efficiency. On the contrary, it can lead to more questions, more phone calls, and a greater need for support.
Accessible municipal services therefore involve, among other things:
- writing clearly and using plain language
- making information easy to find
- building digital services that are easy to use
- creating a clear structure for websites and intranets
- offering alternative ways to get in touch for those who need them
For example,the Municipality of Karlskoga has worked to replace many documents with accessible web pages. The result was not only a more accessible website. The effort also revealed that some of the previously published material was no longer needed, which reduced the amount of content that needs to be managed.
There is no set plan for the municipality in 2030. But there are some questions worth asking today.
- Where does the time go?
Identify recurring questions, manual workflows, duplicate entries, and information that employees or citizens have trouble finding. - Which digital services actually provide value?
Don’t just measure the number of services launched. Track, for example, processing times, inquiries to the contact center, self-service usage, and how quickly employees find the right information. - Where can AI provide concrete benefits?
Start with clear needs and tasks where the impact can be tracked. Begin with the problem, not the technology. - How many systems does the municipality need?
Every new system involves integrations, management, skill requirements, security issues, and costs over time. Sometimes another system is exactly what’s needed. Sometimes it’s just another system. - What happens when something stops working?
View the website, intranet, and other communication channels as part of the municipality’s emergency preparedness. Plan for how information will reach the public even when regular systems fail.