@misc{9239534,
  abstract     = {{In response to growing risks associated with climate change, Sweden must address the need for climate change adaptations. A central actor in addressing this is Swedish municipalities, due to their local planning monopoly and their ability to identify risks associated with local geographical conditions. However, studies have shown that there are several obstacles within the process of adapting to climate change, where funding is seen as the biggest one. The Swedish state has approved grants for this purpose, but municipalities differ significantly in their ability to access these. Several factors have been identified in earlier studies that hinder municipalities, such as lack of clear guidance from the state, lack of responsibility between departments and departmentalization of the municipal organization, the responsibility of civil servants and legal responsibilities. Moreover, the process of obtaining state grants is predominantly characterized by ad-hoc solutions, lack of staff, economic resources and clear priorities. This study aims to clarify what obstacles Swedish municipalities encounter during the process of applying for state grants. Furthermore, the study investigates if these obstacles affect the ability of state funds to create incentives to build physical climate adaptation measures.

The study is based on theory about fiscal federalism and matching grants to understand how state funds create incentives for municipalities to invest in climate adaptation. In addition, legal documents were reviewed to contextualise the conditions Swedish municipalities face.

The study was conducted through interviews, as well as a survey. 13 municipalities were interviewed and 123 out of 290 answered the survey. To compare different municipalities’ abilities to obtain funding based on their size, the results were categorized according to SKR's classifications of municipalities. 

The result of the study has shown that the previously identified obstacles have a large effect on the ability to secure funds. There is also a clear division between different categories of municipalities, where rural municipalities are affected the most by the obstacles and also the ones who need the funds the most. The state funds do not create enough incentives to build the physical climate adaptation measures.}},
  author       = {{Laius, Viktor and Elinder, Jonatan}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Matchade bidrag och hinder – En kvalitativ studie om bidragsprocessen för klimatanpassningar}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}