Topic

Public governance

Commentary

Time to Discuss Cities’ Role in Global Agenda-Setting, Seriously

By strengthening city networks from peer-learning platforms into capable changemakers, we can have a truly global impact on the wicked problems of our day.

What do we talk about when we talk about strategic foresight

To make it simple, the role of strategic foresight should be as the informant, the source of knowledge, the basis for strategic planning and decision-making. After all, without incorporating any foresight to your decision-making, you will be making decisions that are only based on current conditions and as we all…

Public sector platforms: a promising way forward for societies

Less than 1% of workers are working in digital platforms, so why we talk so much about them? Because platforms illustrate the democratising impact of the change of work to the society and show the way forward towards a more inclusive, efficient society.   Indeed, the discussion surrounding skills and…

Fight against corruption starts from communities, not from best practices

This week I took part in event in Berlin. The event was about conceptualizing a new operational model for a Norwegian anti-corruption lab U4. Something very interesting seems to be cooking in the field of anti-corruption. Anti-corruption field is struggling, as research shows that despite efforts, global corruption has not considerably…

Only 4 in 10 citizens trust the government

Eroding trust in governments and the recent struggles of democracies dominated the discussions on the first few days of the World Government Summit 2018. We believe that over the next 5 years the world will witness the mainstreaming of several new ways of enabling inclusion, engagement and participation between people…

Public governance now: 5 point checklist for the 2018 civil servant

Governments around the world are muddling through the first decades of the 21st Century. People’s needs are diversifying, and addressing them is becoming increasingly challenging in the existing interconnected and complex systems. Multiplying wicked problems such as climate change, pandemics, poverty and social injustices further complicate public governance. At the…

Publications

Digitaalisen yhteiskunnan korjausopas – REPAIR-tutkimushankkeen julkaisu

Strategisen tutkimuksen neuvoston rahoittama REPAIR-tutkimushanke käsittelee algoritmisten järjestelmien murtumia. Hankkeen uudessa julkaisussa Digitaalisen yhteiskunnan korjausoppaassa tarkastellaan kuuden tutkimustapauksen ja kahden toimintamallin avulla murtumien vaikutuksia, niiden korjaustyötä sekä mahdollisuuksia oppia niistä.

Towards long-term governance – From future awareness to action

How can countries strengthen their capacity for long-term governance and ensure that future generations are taken into account in decision-making? In this white paper, we highlight ways to promote anticipatory governance based on the views of key Finnish stakeholders. By translating the Finnish experience into a broader context, we aim to provide universally applicable strategies for advancing long-term governance and promoting intergenerational justice.

Generative Shared Intelligence: A direction for governments in the uncertain environment of the late 2020s

The notion of a “polycrisis” has become a defining feature of contemporary governance, and traditional administrative methods are increasingly inadequate. In this publication, Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan’s concept of “Generative Shared Intelligence” offers a model for addressing multidimensional problems in governance, emphasising the need for more flexible and collaborative structures designed for the sole purpose of sharing intelligence.

Projects

South Sudan builds long-term thinking while addressing present needs

Without a shared vision of the future, decisions made today may inadvertently lead us down the most familiar paths, not the right ones. 

Circular Economy Green Deal – a steering instrument for collective action towards circularity

The Circular Economy Green Deal is a novel Finnish steering instrument that catalyses collective action for systemic change towards circularity based on voluntary commitments. Demos Helsinki had the honour of leading the co-creative process that led to the creation of the Circular Economy Green Deal.

KT4D: Fostering democracy through knowledge technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can undermine democracy via the cultural disruptions they create, the power dynamics they shift, their tendency toward opacity, and the speed at which they change. The KT4D project investigates how democracy and civic participation can be facilitated in an era of rapidly changing knowledge technologies — such as AI and big data, thereby mitigating the risks of such technologies and identifying how they can be used to reinforce democratic governance and trust in public institutions.

People

Themes