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Our latest updates, thoughts, and events — as they roll out.
Drawing on three EU-funded research projects, we examine the tensions behind von der Leyen’s State of the Union address. Technological sovereignty risks deepening the dependencies it aims to reduce; climate resilience requires funding architecture that lets mitigation and adaptation reinforce each other; and Europe’s strength cannot be measured by economic indicators alone. A stronger Europe, we argue, depends less on ambition than on governance capable of delivering it.
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In Imagining Change Through Science – Demos Helsinki Research Encounters, we explored how science and research have shaped societal change.
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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.
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Drawing on almost five years of Cities Mission implementation, Demos Helsinki and its partners from Dark Matter Labs and the Mission Board argue that mission governance has reached policy readiness. Its mechanisms have been tested, its governance infrastructure is in place, and it offers a transferable model for delivering on EU strategic priorities at scale.
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Finland managed the Covid-19 pandemic comparatively well. Yet the longer the crisis lasted, the more visible the limits of the governance system became. This brief examines what a prolonged crisis revealed about institutional strength, societal vulnerabilities, and the kind of governance future crises demand.
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Decades of low growth in Finland may be a symptom of a weakened capacity for renewal inside organisations, including the country’s top businesses. In this report, we explore the role that Finnish companies play in the current growth environment and document what business leaders think should be done next. We conclude with key recommendations for boards and executive teams to create the conditions for a renewed purpose in business, one that fits the current Finnish context and reveals underused capacity for renewal.
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Finnish education system: a success story rooted in humility
June 9, 2021
The Finnish education system is widely acknowledged as one of the best in the world. It has been studied and celebrated by filmmakers, journalists, researchers, educators, and policymakers. Finnish students have been front-runners in every PISA test since 2000. Ninety-three per cent of Finns graduate from university or At the…
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Infrastructure will either prevent or enable Finland reaching its target of being carbon neutral by 2035
April 21, 2021
Since October 2020 Demos Helsinki and RAKLI have been imagining the future of carbon neutral infrastructure in cooperation with 12 key actors in the field. Participating stakeholders include cities, energy companies, infrastructure developers, contractors, manufacturers, a construction company and a financial institution. The aim of the multistakeholder project is to…
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Next Stop: Make transportation work for people
March 31, 2021
It’s 2021. The transportation sector needs to pay attention to one of the elephants in the room of our times: equality and how power imbalances became embedded in cities and regions’ transit services. One of the tangible consequences of the status quo is the upholding of invisible barriers that hold…
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