Latest content
Our latest updates, thoughts, and events — as they roll out.
Demos Helsinki is currently involved in 14 Horizon Europe projects. From exploring the societal impacts of new technologies to tackling climate challenges, these projects reflect a growing demand for research that sparks systemic change. Discover how we are working across disciplines to shape fairer, more sustainable futures.
→ Continue reading
These three research projects are: 1) Reducing polarisation via material participation (MaDem); 2) Coastal waters under pressure – safeguarding a healthy Gulf of Finland in a changing geopolitical and environmental landscape (CoWup); and 3) Safe Water for All (WaterFall).
→ Continue reading
We are pleased to announce that the UNDP’s Istanbul Innovation Days (IID), taking place in March 2025, will focus on shaping the next generation of public institutions for a secure and prosperous world.
→ Continue reading
While substantial efforts have been made to identify and address issues of environmental justice in urban areas, the question of how to consider and plan for the concerns of humans and other species remains a major challenge. This paper provides a conceptualisation of what ‘justice’ might mean from a multispecies justice (MSJ) perspective within the contexts of nature-based solutions (NBS) and urban sustainability planning. We offer a wider conceptualisation of representation, distribution and agency compared with dominant framings in NBS scholarship and provide exemplar cases on how to integrate these concepts in planning discourse. We critically discuss some of the challenges and opportunities of considering MSJ when confronted by established procedures and practices in NBS science and decision-making, focusing on (i) moving beyond existing standards for biodiversity conservation; (ii) embracing MSJ as a process and practice; and (iii) building the capacity of NBS planners to work with MSJ.
→ Continue reading
The report provides insights into how the dominant ways of thinking about growth have taken shape and become entrenched: What has changed over the decades? And what might the future look like? Finnish discourse is also placed in the broader context of international societal and scientific debates, as well as global shifts in the operating environment.
→ Continue reading
With the increasing culture of applying piloting as part of technology innovation, the need for understanding its societal implications is becoming more crucial. With the aim of understanding better the power relations, tensions and agencies pivotal to negotiating and embedding ethics across processes, we consider utilizing a framework of “design logics” to the data.
→ Continue reading
Sorry, there are currently no upcoming events. Please follow us to get the latest updates!
The future does not exist
September 7, 2021
The world is full of chance, chaos, and things we don’t have a tested solution for. As such, companies try to eliminate uncertainty by either using data to predict trends or employing complex forecasting methods. Yet, neither of these models has any relevance unless we devote some time to thinking…
→ Continue reading
We need less data, more conversation
July 25, 2021
When trying to measure and predict human behavior, data must be enriched with ideas and emotions. The case of COVID-19 showed the limits of quantitative methods, as expert echo chambers were unable to translate the data into conversations that could ultimately lead to action. By Angeliki Vourdaki
→ Continue reading
Four blockchain experiments to transform the public sector
July 12, 2021
Blockchain-based currencies were designed to be independent of public monetary institutions or states. Meanwhile, public organizations are investing a lot in utilizing blockchain-based technologies. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is believed to have the potential to allow public services to improve effectiveness, reduce friction between agencies, reduce bureaucratic barriers, boost public engagement,…
→ Continue reading