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with Demos Helsinki.
About Demos Helsinki
As a journalist, you contribute to the future by highlighting ideas that matter. Whether you are already writing a story or looking for inspiration, Demos Helsinki can provide trustworthy commentary while remaining joyful and optimistic about societies and our future.
Governments and other organisations come to Demos Helsinki looking for new ideas, concepts, points of growth, and strategic change when old tools become outdated. Our people lead the way in challenging the status quo to bring about positive societal change. We work with global actors, including the United Nations, OECD, European Commission, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and many others, to reshape societies.
Get the unexpected angle of any story — big or small
Demos Helsinki experts always provide useful context that can promote public dialogue and increase the stakes of any story. All of our experts are available for comments, and you can find them here. Otherwise, see if something sparks your interest from the featured topics below:
Cutting-edge research and evidence-based policies
We have an extensive research portfolio that explores the dynamics of institutions and society.
Public administration and governance
Our current institutions, tools, and policies are not fit for purpose. We have been building a number of approaches, models, and frameworks that can create a new type of governance — one that can instigate and sustain just transformations.
See our relevant research, projects, experts, and thoughts ->
Sustainability and post-sustainability
Our experts have 20 years of experience studying societal and behavioural trends regarding the sustainability transition, while also carrying out direct engagements with governments, companies, universities, and civil society to accelerate a just transformation.
See our work and experts on Sustainability & Climate Action ->
New economic thinking, wellbeing economy, new economic indicators
Our economic system has revealed its pain points. We believe that there are economic interventions that go beyond policy. What if our economies focused on wellbeing instead of growth? What if new key indicators replaced GDP?
Industrial policy for the post-industrial era
Industrial policy is about governance — and we said before it was cool. Governments are now dealing with strategic uncertainty and a gap in capacities, while also missing the right tools to engage meaningfully with critical-industry leaders.
Emerging technologies and how to design, develop and deploy them equitably
Technology cannot be treated as a sector. We consistently develop research and recommendations on the responsible and ethical deployment of technologies, the rollout of ethical AI, and the future of work, governance, and regulation in a digitalised era.
The future of care, healthcare, and welfare
Demands for care are growing due to a number of factors. Our work shows the need to integrate care in all economic sectors and all aspects of life.
Cities, their challenges, and their opportunities
Cities can lead essential transitions by instigating and sustaining collective action. Our 20+ years of experience in urban transformations reveals city-governance gaps and opportunities.
Connect with the right expert
Send your request to angeliki.vourdaki[at]demoshelsinki.fi, including your name, publication, and a short summary of what interests you. Our colleague, Angeliki, will help direct you to the right person.
Latest news
See what Demos Helsinki has been up to.
APPLY NOW: Europe’s largest cleantech business idea competition open for submissions
Post
March 2, 2015
Europe’s largest cleantech business idea competition, Climate LaunchPad 2015, kicks off its second edition! Students, start-ups and entrepreneurs are invited to submit their cleantech ideas. All entries are judged on their impact on climate change, their growth potential and on skills and enthusiasm. The most promising entries gain access to…
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Panel Discussion | Design for Government | March 3
Event
February 24, 2015
Helsinki Design Lab and Design Driven City programme of Finland, Policy Lab under the UK Cabinet, MindLab of Denmark, Public Policy Lab of New York are just the beginning. Now the emergent domain of design requires a new set of skills and the right mindset with rigour. We cordially invite you…
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Demos Helsinki discusses Finnish schools in the latest issue of Monocle
Post
February 4, 2015
Juha Leppänen, head of democracy and capabilities research area at Demos Helsinki, sat down with Monocle’s Matt Alagiah to discuss Finnish education. Why are arts and skills classes mandatory in Finnish schools? Monocle investigates. You can read more about Monocle here and purchase the 2015 Hospitality Issue from this link.
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Get Naked with Nearables
Post
January 28, 2015
Last summer, I started talking with an American professor while waiting for a non-existent ferry in Istanbul. I soon found out that he happened to be one of the few early developers of the original iPhone and had only recently left the company. We joked about Nokia, and later during…
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Kvalitid wins the Peloton Smart Retro pitch contest
Post
January 22, 2015
The second Peloton Smart Retro Innovation Camp brought together 13 innovative startups from all over Europe in Stockholm. The participants designed tests with larger partner companies and the public sector. The camp concluded in a pitch show won by Kvalitid. Kvalitid is a service that provides apartment buildings with domestic help…
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Nordic countries team up to build smarter cities: havens of quality of life, nature and great design – with zero emissions
Post
December 3, 2014
The new Peloton Smart Retro Acceleration Programme for urban services aims to revitalise three cities in three Nordic countries. The project originates from a Nordic public declaration on building more sustainable cities. Sustainable urbanisation is a global necessity; to tackle climate change will require collaboration across borders. The Nordics are…
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