Towards a Streamlined Digital Permitting Process: A Swedish Case Study

Abstract: Environmental permitting is a key instrument for enabling sustainable development, but it is often characterized by long processing times, high administrative burdens, and outcome uncertainty. While prior research and government inquiries highlight weaknesses in Swedish permitting process, empirical evidence of how these challenges manifest in practice remains limited. This study investigates the permitting process through the triangulation of a scoping literature review, Swedish government reports, and an exploratory case study. The findings identify challenges related to regulatory ambiguity, institutional constraints, procedural sequencing, stakeholder participation, confidentiality, and data availability, underscoring need for a more transparent and streamlined digital permitting process.