Demos Helsinki

Finnish think tank
  • Helsinki, Finland
Chief Executive
Juha Leppänen
Founders
Aleksi Neuvonen, Roope MokkaWebsiteDemoshelsinki.fi

Demos Helsinki is a Finnish think tank. Their main research focus is on governance and societal innovation for the development of a democratic and environmentally sustainable society.[1] The organisation receives a mix of public and private funding.[2] When it was founded in 2005, Demos Helsinki became Finland's first independent think tank, described as a "front-runner" amongst think tanks in the Nordic by the Scandinavian Political Studies journal.[3] Internationally, Demos Helsinki remains one of Finland's most prominent advocates of social change, receiving regular coverage from notable English-language newspapers, including The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Economist.[4][5][6][7]

History

Demos Helsinki was founded in 2005 to conduct research for the Finnish innovation fund Sitra about the future of public services and quality of life in Finland.[8] Demos's approach to research and policy-making combines the expertise from expertise from different fields of study, including urban planning, architecture, and social sciences.[8][9] In 2007, the organisation launched the largest privately funded climate change campaign in Europe. At their annual conference in 2013, the World Resources Forum crowned Demos Helsinki's ideas for a resource-sustainable economy the best presentation in the Sustainable Business and Industry category.[10] More recently, Demos has developed experimental policy-making approaches for the Finnish government.[11][12] The universal basic income experiment in Finland in 2016 was part of this experimental policy-making, and Demos received worldwide media attention for their development of the experiment in collaboration with the prime minister's office.[13][14]

The organisation is also a partner to the city of Helsinki in its environmental and social sustainability programme, aiming to make the city carbon neutral by 2035.[7][15][16] Part of this collaboration included the creation of the Think Sustainably app that highlights sustainable consumer options and helps reduce carbon emissions, for which Demos developed the sustainability criteria.[17][18][19] Internationally, Demos Helsinki provides the French RATP Group, one of the world's major public transport providers, urban planning advice as a part of their strategy to use design and infrastructure innovation to increase sustainability.[20][9] Their collaboration is aimed at improving the societal impacts of Paris's public transport infrastructure, whilst decreasing its environmental footprint.[21]

Notable people

This is a list of notable people presently or formerly associated with Demos Helsinki:

  • Sari Baldauf - Chairman of Nokia.
  • Olli-Pekka Heinonen - Former Finnish Cabinet member (Minister of Transport and Communications, Education)[22]
  • Geoff Mulgan - British political scientist and Professor at University College London.
  • Aleksi Neuvonen [fi] - Finnish futurist and co-founder of Demos Helsinki.
  • Roope Mokka [fi] - Finnish futures researcher and co-founder of Demos Helsinki.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Demos Helsinki". onthinktanks.org. On Think Tanks. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  2. ^ Lounasmeri, Lotta (2020). "The Finnish Think Tank Landscape–A Mixture of Consensualism and Adversity?". Scandinavian Political Studies. 43 (3): 187–206. doi:10.1111/1467-9477.12182. hdl:10138/319111. S2CID 225383122. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  3. ^ Lounasmeri, Lotta (2020). "The Finnish Think Tank Landscape–A Mixture of Consensualism and Adversity?". Scandinavian Political Studies. 43 (3): 190. doi:10.1111/1467-9477.12182. hdl:10138/319111. S2CID 225383122. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. ^ Goodman, Peter (17 December 2016). "Free Cash in Finland. Must be Jobless". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ^ Soila, Amanda (July 2014). "Think Tanks See an Even Better Finland". This is Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Roope Mokka", Sitra.fi
  7. ^ a b Kaarna, Jasper (22 May 2009). "Demos Helsinki: Näin toimii ajatushautomo" (in Finnish). Suomen Kuvalehti. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b Päiväniemi, Okko (2016). "Demos Helsinki ja taloushallinnon sähköistyminen: muutoskuvaus" (PDF). Theseus.fi (in Finnish). Haaga-Heli Ammattikorkeakoulu. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b Berglund, Eeva (2013). "Design as Activism in Helsinki:Notes from the World Design Capital 2012". Design and Culture. 2 (5): 197. doi:10.2752/175470813X13638640370779. S2CID 142968921. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Peloton laboratorio palkittiin World Resources Forumissa". ym.fi (in Finnish). Ministry of the Environment (Finland). 7 October 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ^ Wachtmeister, Will (18 December 2015). "FINLAND: The world's first country with truly experimental governance". basicincome.org. Basic Income Earth Network. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  12. ^ Szaniecki, Barbara; Cocco, Giuseppe, eds. (20 August 2015). Creative Capitalism, Multitudinous Creativity: Radicalities and Alterities. Lexington Books. p. 169. ISBN 9781498503990. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  13. ^ Catalan, Daniel (22 June 2018). "What is a systems approach?". The OECD Observer. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: 1–3. ISSN 0029-7054. ProQuest 2400554144. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  14. ^ Oltermann, Philip (2 June 2016). "State handouts for all? Europe set to pilot universal basic incomes". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Think Sustainably", Sustaineurope.com
  16. ^ "Helsinki Launches Local Sustainability Programme", Smartcitiesworld.net
  17. ^ Douglas, Lucy (13 August 2019). "Helsinki residents encouraged to reduce emissions with new 'Think Sustainably' app". Positive News. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  18. ^ EME outlook. "City of Helsinki launches local sustainability programme". EMEoutlookmag.com. EME Outlook. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  19. ^ Aouf, Rima Sabina (14 August 2019). "Helsinki launches Think Sustainably digital service for residents and tourists". Dezeen. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  20. ^ "2019 RATP Group Highlights" (PDF). 2 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  21. ^ Nuutinen, Johannes. "RATP, Paris – The world's fourth biggest public transport operator examines the year 2035". Demoshelsinki.fi. Demos Helsinki. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Demos Helsinki - Board of Directors". Demoshelsinki.fi. Demos Helsinki. Retrieved 6 May 2021.

External links

  • Official website