Policies

Policy 1/7

We will organise our services in a people-centric and diverse way.

People oriented and diverse services mean proactive, effective services that take into account the needs and circumstances of different people, businesses and organisations. We will develop services together with our clients by identifying different life courses, habits and circumstances as well as considering linguistic rights. We will secure people-oriented and equal services in a diversifying society throughout Finland in an economically sustainable way by making extensive use of knowledge and digitalisation. We are responsible for ensuring that the various public services and benefits are easily accessible, understandable, interoperable, safe and reliable.

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Policy 2/7

We will expand opportunities to exert influence and encourage people to participate in policy preparation and decision-making.

Building a governance that is meaningful to people requires that we develop and utilise new ways to bring a wider scope of people into realm of society’s functions. Trust in one’s own possibilities to participate and exert influence, trust in the authorities and the experience that democracy functions well have a significant impact on the stable development of society. We will expand the possibilities for participating and exerting influence by introducing new ways to participate in democracy. We will work for people to feel heard and understood in society. We will pilot various digital means of participation, and especially at the local level utilise methods of e.g. participatory budgeting. We will safeguard the operating framework of democracy through reliable and open information and by supporting the civil society. We will strengthen our role in building the international rules- based system.

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Policy 3/7

We will bear responsibility for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Achieving intergenerational justice and safe societal development requires us to move towards carbon neutrality and respect for biodiversity. Therefore, we will assess the ecological impact of reforms and decisions also in sectors where we have not been used to doing so before. We will strengthen a climate smart society and biodiversity, for example through information, incentives and versatile guidance, as well as by making smart use of new technologies. We will actively take part in international climate work.

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Policy 4/7

We will cooperate willingly with the rest of society.

Central and local government must significantly increase cooperation and division of labour with the rest of society so that we can solve new societal challenges and ensure the sustainability of public finances. Strengthening willingness to cooperate means, for example, that we will use more diverse ways to interact and reinforce partnerships with the private and third sectors. We will create the conditions for diverse cooperation through legislation and flexible administrative structures. In a global world, there is also a need for well-functioning and confidence building international cooperation. We need new models of cooperation to achieve our goals, as different actors must be able to incorporate their expertise into the operating models of public governance. Examples exist, such as e-services shared across sectors, performance based guidance models and innovative public procurement.

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Policy 5/7

We will work consistently and together.

We will review our operations so that we can improve the way we work across internal structures and borders more smoothly and coherently, for example through guidance and management systems. Siloed thinking in government has been highlighted in many studies as one of the weaknesses of public governance. Administrative branch-specific and government agency-specific performance management, the authorities’ own service networks, management structures, resourcing, traditions and narrow-minded attitudes for their part support limited cross-facilitation and do not adequately encourage working together across administrative boundaries. We will promote cohesion across government, for example by increasing phenomenon-based policy preparation, and by building electronic transactions as online services and shared customer service points of public governance. We will strengthen smooth cooperation between central and local government as well as the Government’s coordinating role in facilitating cohesion. We will ensure that the communications in Swedish between the central government and the autonomy authorities in Åland continue to work well. Where necessary, we will increase incentives and focus guidance to overcome obstacles critical to working together.

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Policy 6/7

We will utilise and provide information in a proactive and diverse manner.

In a changing operating environment, the government’s operational capability is enforced by utilising high‑quality information in a diverse manner. We will develop foresight systematically, so as to quickly be able to form a reliable information base when needed. In preparing for long-term decision‑making, aside from up‑to‑date and evidence based information, we will also utilise foresight. We will make better use of and produce diverse, reliable information in government and society. We will create close links with the broad research community to meet our information needs. This means, for example, that we will open government data resources and we will link foresight more strongly to preparation and budgeting. We must prepare increasingly for new ways of using information. Opening and utilising information also require international cooperation.

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Policy 7/7

We will act agilely and challenge ourselves.

The traditional starting point for government activities has been to ensure stability and predictability, for which reason its operating methods are designed in part to be rigid. However, the rapidly changing operating environment requires us to renew our expertise and adopt more agile and flexible practices. We will develop governance by systematically utilising strategic experimentation, flexible processes and rapid learning between different functions of government. Flexibility is built, for example, by making more versatile use of guiding mechanisms, good personnel policies, introducing digital solutions, examining the possibilities of new technologies, and by impact-based regulation and rapid iterative planning processes.

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