Sitra and the Ministry of Finance agree on cooperation to reform the public sector

The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the Ministry of Finance have agreed on cooperation to advance reforms aimed at ensuring high-quality public services in Finland well into the future.

The ongoing technological transformation enables the public sector to adopt entirely new ways of delivering public services and significantly improve productivity. The aim of the cooperation between Sitra and the Ministry of Finance is to ensure that Finland can seize the opportunities created by this transformation.

In June, the Government’s Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy decided to accelerate the public administration’s AI transformation, with the aim of significantly improving the productivity of public administration as well as the quality and accessibility of public services. The Ministry of Finance coordinates the work of public administration organisations.

Through the cooperation agreement, Sitra will act as a strategic partner to the Ministry of Finance and the wider public administration in the comprehensive renewal of the public sector through the use of data and artificial intelligence. As an organisation operating under the Finnish Parliament, Sitra also brings a regular dialogue with Parliament to reform efforts that extend beyond electoral terms.

Sitra contributes its statutory and independent foresight expertise to this work. It supports public administration in identifying and selecting the most impactful reforms and in building a shared situational understanding. Sitra also helps design how the most effective reforms can be launched, governed, implemented and successfully scaled across the public sector.

In addition, Sitra helps identify ways to engage and involve people in the reform process. For public sector reforms to succeed, they must enjoy broad public acceptance.

“People have the right to high-quality services, and public sector employees must have the opportunity to succeed in their work. Successfully reforming the public sector requires strong cooperation that looks to the future. As a fund operating under the Finnish Parliament, it is natural for Sitra to act as a partner in a reform that affects everyone in Finland and continues beyond electoral terms”, says Atte Jääskeläinen, President of Sitra.

The cooperation expands Sitra’s support for public sector renewal through the opportunities offered by technological transformation. Sitra already has a programme under way through which it allocates EUR 50 million to improve public sector productivity by harnessing data and artificial intelligence and by developing leadership practices.

Sitra is a fund operating under the Finnish Parliament, tasked with promoting Finland’s wellbeing and accelerating economic growth within the limits of the planet’s carrying capacity. Sitra does not use tax money from the state budget. It obtains funds for its operations primarily from the investment markets.