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come to Demos Helsinki looking for new ideas, concepts, points of growth, and strategic change when old tools become outdated.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.

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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

Cutting-edge research and evidence-based policies

We have an extensive research portfolio that explores the dynamics of institutions and society.

See our latest research -> 

Public administration and governance

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

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

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? 

See our work on big economic questions ->

Industrial policy for the post-industrial era

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. 

See our work and experts on Industry & Innovation ->

Emerging technologies and how to design, develop and deploy them equitably

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.  

See our work and experts in Technology ->

See our work and experts around ethical AI ->

The future of care, healthcare, and welfare

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.

See our work and experts on the future of care -> 

See our work and experts on health and wellbeing ->

Cities, their challenges, and their opportunities

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. 

See our work and experts in Cities -> 

See our work and experts in Construction -> 

Connect with the right expert

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.

Academic Advisory Board to support Demos Helsinki’s research activities

An Academic Advisory Board has been appointed to Demos Helsinki to strengthen the impact of its scientific research activities. In 2023, Demos Research Institute will have 12 ongoing scientific research projects, four of which will also have an interaction role. The members of the Advisory Board are Professor of Sustainable…


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Demos Helsinki expands and grows its research activities

This autumn, Demos Helsinki has won several large grants for research projects from the most competitive research funding programs in the world. This strengthens Demos Helsinki’s research capabilities and positions our team strongly in the European and Finnish research ecosystems.   NetZeroCities   We are a research partner in the…


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UNTITLED Festival 2021 – Creating An Agenda For Transformation

In 2020, Demos Helsinki joined forces with an unlikely group of member organizations, activists, and professionals who are capable of initiating a Transformation. We called it UNTITLED. UNTITLED has grown into a global Alliance that aims to reimagine the central institutions of our society and to experiment on how to…


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In Lahti, Oulu and Tampere, people want to live in line with the 1.5 degree climate target

Together with their citizens, three Finnish cities are exploring how the carbon footprint of their lifestyles can be reduced to a sustainable level. The work aims to meet the challenge posed by the intergovernmental panel on climate change IPCC, published at the beginning of August, which stated that the carbon…


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Webinar: Wise Societies — A call for Wisdom in the post-pandemic world

We have gathered the data, we need to cultivate the wisdom. Can societies be wise? Experiences of the pandemic — both why it happened and how it was handled — ring alarm bells for many of us.  Judging by today’s standards, societies are far from wise. Individuals hold this trait…


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Webinar: Novel ways to problem-solve

What are the desired characteristics of a fit-for-purpose 21st-century government?


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See our previous media coverage