Commentary
The Next Era: what is the future of the nordic model?
How do we guarantee well-being for everyone, if the only thing we know for sure is that everything will change? What is it about? Sitra and Demos Helsinki have launched The Next Era, work to create a vision aimed at a reform of the Nordic model, i.e. the next era…
Read MoreMargarine, biohabitat bank, space poop – and few other reasons why you should follow challenge prize competitions in Finland
The celebration of the 100th anniversary of Finnish independence will start in a matter of weeks. Besides festivities, cocktail parties and memorable speeches, next year will go down in history as the year when challenge prizes came to Finland. Challenge prize competitions, also known as challenge prizes, are open innovation…
Read MoreHot tips for Slush 2016
Demos Helsinki is part of Slush 2016, one of Europe’s biggest technology and startup event! Follow this schedule and find us at Slush 2016: TUESDAY 29th NOV 2016 17:30–21:50 // FREE PRE-EVENT The Sexy Truth – An Afterwork of Cleantech & Opportunities G Live Lab, Yrjönkatu 3, Helsinki Satu Lähteenoja…
Read MoreFuture Needs Your Body
Good morning on-demand world! You are better than my dreams, carefully curated into bite-sized chunks. You show me things I never knew I wanted (but still love), because you predict my preferences with the precision of artificial intelligence and with the strength of the swarm. But heck! Whilst progress became…
Read MoreWhat, if anything, can a government in India learn from a Nordic think tank?
Demos Helsinki recently had the honor of being invited to assist the government of Assam in India in the establishment of a new innovation lab. Our very own government innovation experts, Roope Mokka and Jaakko Kuosmanen, have spent the past months working on the project. Here, Roope and Jaakko talk…
Read MoreOn an expedition in the US: Why open innovation and participatory processes stumble or succeed?
This year Demos Helsinki’s Head of Co-creation Outi Kuittinen visits the New School and Harvard as a Fulbright Scholar to explore how open innovation and participatory processes stumble or succeed. And will bring you the insights. Co-creation, open and participatory processes for innovating services and for planning policies are slowly…
Read MoreWhich is better: human or machine? Both, say these Finnish researchers
A woman in her thirties is gazing at a row of computer screens in a dimly-lit room. Each screen is running a video feed from a car driving on the sunny streets of Helsinki. “I must say I’d love to have some life around me”, she sighs, and continues to…
Read MoreUN Habitat III: Smart city evolution will transform consumers into active co-designers of the city | Demos Helsinki
The UN Habitat conference, officially titled the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, is held once every 20 years. From Habitat I in Vancouver in 1976 to Habitat II in Istanbul in 1996, the conference has sought to create more sustainable urbanization. The 2016 conference was hosted in Quito, Ecuador, and…
Read More87 solutions to tackle climate change
Creating products and services that help us live comfortably and with zero carbon emissions is not only crucial for our planet, but also a treasure trove of business opportunities. The scarcity of natural resources and climate change are absolute game changers for our future lifestyles. All of this was evident…
Read More3+1 What we learned at the FutureFest
Want to hear and discuss about the future? Do you find both talks and interactive performances as great tools to inspire people to change the future? Then you should attend the next FutureFest, weekend festival organized by Nesta. Here we present some of the notions made at this year’s event.…
Read MoreFor genuine integration we need to re-think housing
We seem to believe there is a universal refugee character, someone we can easily recognise in the news. This story of “a common refugee” overwrites individuality and personal experience. The system of integration we now have doesn’t recognise refugees as agents, as if we are printing objectives onto a clean sheet…
Read More8 Statements How to Make Nordic Startup Ecosystems More Effective
I recently published a big literature review on entrepreneurial ecosystems for Demos Helsinki NAKED Approach project (Finns have a bit of a thing for cheeky abbreviations). The work offers a baseline understanding of the factors that shape high-tech startup ecosystems. GREAT STUFF but most of us don’t have time to…
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