We have studied how ambitions around innovation has been expressed in three of Sweden's municipalities - Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Nacka -whether they present a uniform or dispersed picture of how they have approached the challenge. The study is based on a document and text analysis, more specific annual reports, in a qualitative comparative design. A first result was that all three municipalities present innovation in their annual reports. A second result was that all of them have a large base in innovation connected to “improving”, which in many cases could coincide with active quality management work with continuous improvements, instead of qualifying as innovation. A third result was that innovation concerning achieving goals around sustainability and climate, is an area that the municipalities have taken responsibility for. Although the ambitions around innovation had reached the local municipal level, the innovation work had taken different forms based on the locally developed strengths and geographical conditions. We thus see that despite the fact that the three municipalities all work with innovation, the innovation work gives a far from uniform picture.