Latest content
Our latest updates, thoughts, and events — as they roll out.
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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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).
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The Circular Design Toolkit helps policymakers move beyond recycling by focusing on upstream design decisions that shape sustainable value chains and industrial transformation.
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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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What’s going on with GDP? Rethinking economic success
March 7, 2025
For decades, GDP has stood unchallenged as the primary measure of economic success. As calls to move beyond GDP grow, two approaches have risen to prominence: supplementing it with broader measures, or abandoning it altogether to redefine economic success. What is the best path forward in the debate on GDP?
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Care, ageing, and how to amplify our imagination
December 9, 2024
How do societies make most of the extraordinary good luck of ever-longer life expectancies? How can nations be strategic as they manage the huge demographic shifts of the years ahead? How do we handle the transition of care needed over the next few decades? Demos Helsinki Fellow, Sir Geoff Mulgan, is unpacking these questions below in a personal and cross-functional account.
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The big “how”: New ways to govern industrial policy
July 13, 2023
Effective governance is crucial in the face of uncertainty, not only to resolve problems of coordination but to carve out long-term strategies that don’t risk other crucial societal objectives. We share a series of methodologies specifically designed for coordinating industrial policy despite strategic uncertainty.
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