Keynote speech by Outi Kuittinen at European Campus of Local and regional authorities for culture "Social Innovation & Culture" 19 Sept 2013, Tampere Outi Kuittinen, Co-creation Lead, Demos Helsinki, outi.kuittinen@demoshelsinki.fi, +358 50 326 55 82, www.demoshelsinki.fi

1. The Role of
Social Innovation
in quality of life
the Role of authorities for
culture in incubating social
innovation
European Campus of Local and regional authorities for culture 19 Sept 2013,Tampere
Outi Kuittinen, Co-creation Lead, Demos Helsinki, outi.kuittinen@demoshelsinki.fi, +358 50 326 55 82, www.demoshelsinki.fi

2. Demos Helsinki
Future-oriented, people-centric think tank studying megatrends and systemic change and
transforming it into action of people, organisations and groups.
Our views, reports and experimentations are based on applied and applicable research, future
studies and co-creation.
We work with companies, start ups, ministries, the parliament, municipalities and other actors of
the public sector as well as NGOs that are willing to look for new perspectives and renew
themselves.
Founded in 2005 by enthusiastic people. Politically independent, project-funded, legal form is NGO.

3. Politics of Happiness – A Manifesto (2009,WWF)
Mission for Finland
(country brand for Finland, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs 2011)
City 2.0 – Towards a Social SiliconValley
(2007, Greater HelsinkiVision 2050 contest, 2nd price)
Well-being of the Metropolis
(2010, University of Jyväskylä, City of Espoo)

4. Give your neighbour an example
of social innovation from your
country.

5. Two imperatives that push us to
seriously start fostering social
innovation
1) It is essential for subjective
well-being of people
2) It is essential to the future
prosperity of our societies

6. Story of quality of life in
Finland thus far
Painting by Eero Järnefelt, photo source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raatajat_rahanalaiset.JPG

7. From Me Naiset magazine 1978
The story of joint effort, where everyone was taken onboard by social innovations
Photo: Opetushallituksen arkisto, http://www.edu.fi
Photo:Team Finland
Wikimedia Commons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winter_war.jpg

8. Photo: Olli KarttunenPhoto: kkateboydell / flickr Creative Commons

9. Are we in the end
of the era of
common good?

10. Building subjective well-being and
the prosperity of our societies
can still be joined.
It needs changes both in roles
and ways of working and in goals.

11. New understanding of the
resources
(Well-being of the Metropolis 2010)
A partnership society links together resources and motivations of
the government, individuals, communities, association and
companies. In its focus are:
1) Potential of the people: The momentum of partnership
society sets off from people and their relationships,
motivations and resources of people and their
communities, ”the hidden wealth of nations”
2) Systematically tackle wicked problems of the world.

12. Role of the public sector
Know the partners and their motivations, engage in
continous dialogue and link partners together
Awaken agency in common things, inspire and nudge
people to tackle wicked problems
Encourage action between peers, offer tools to do things
together, and help people to be part of communities
Use public resources to stimulate other resources
Duplicate, disseminate and scale up innovations by other Ps

13. Facilitating civil servant
incubating social innovation
is an active partner, who looks for groups that are already
creating valuable action, works with them, and links groups
together
looks for where action is not happening, finds out how to
motivate and enable people who are not taking part, and
intervenes creating not only equal opportunities but equally
used opportunities

14. Example of civil servants as facilitators and social incubators:
Tampere yhdessä – Tampere together
To strengthen sense of
community by citizen-led mini
projects, especially of those
hard to reach.
The Tampere Together project
has been a service to local
associations and communities.
Helps to get funding from EU
taking care for communications
to funding authorities, writing
funding application, project
reporting etc.
It has freed the actors
themselves to concentrate on
the actual content.http://www.tampereyhdessa.net

15. Why would people want
to be partners?
Because people of the 20th
century want and are capable to
have their say, and because it is
essential for their well-being.

16. Development of wealth and life satisfaction in US (General Society Survey)
New understanding of well-being
(A Politics of Happiness A Manifesto 2010)

17. Helping and sharing generate a
pleasure identical to sex and
increase our happiness.
- Post 2005
We are happy when we can
take part in building our own
and common well-being.
- Skidmore & Kirsten 2008
Participation in the activities of
voluntary communities makes
more happy than wealth.
- Helliwell & Putnam 2005
Happiness is connected to active action.
It is not just a moment of feeling good or lack
of feeling bad.

18. Kuva: Hannu Oskala / flickr Creative Commons
To sum it up:
Happiness is active action towards
one’s own well-being and that of
others, together with others.

19. What if happiness was taken
seriously, as a goal for the politics?
In 20th century politics of happiness was work
and wealth for all
In 21st century politics of happiness is better
use of time and meaningful action for everyone

20. Better use of time and
meaningful action for everyone
Youth unemployment!
What about coping of adults?
Inactivity of the elderly?
Society must support all ways of working and
acting together, not only paid employment.
What could be done?
Education could involve more practices that
support doing things together.
The national defence forces could gradually be
transformed into a civic camp for everyone.
Income taxation could be reformed to favour
longer holidays instead of additional income.

21. Meaningful places as one of
the tools
The shopping centre, park and home
encourage different activities.
Now spaces are characterised by an exact
purpose and privacy. Lack of quality shared
spaces leads to a virtual ’arms race’
between individual homes.
The politics of happiness would be
focused on creating pleasant living
environments, public facilities that invite
people to act together, a sense of calm and
places that feel like yours to modify and
equally accessible and available.

22. Should we then give
people meaningful action?
No. Because we can’t know what
is meaningful to whom.

23. Guess which Finnish cultural event?
FINLAND PRIZE 2011
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
BEST CULTURAL ACT 2011
CITY OF HELSINKI
BEST EVENT 2012
CITY OF HELSINKI
BEST MOBILE SERVICE 2012
TELEFORUM FINLAND
SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT OF THE YEAR 2013
ALLER MEDIA

24. Ravintolapäivä
The Restaurant day
Kuvat:Timo Santala

25. One-day restaurants have so far popped up in 51 different
countries including Aruba,Australia,Austria, Bangladesh,
Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech
Republic, Denmark, England, Equador, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico,
Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda,
Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Thailand,Turkey, Ukraine,Venezuela, USA and Uzbekistan.
Latest Restaurant Day 18 August 2013:
1683 restaurants,
220 cities,
35 countries
www.restaurantday.org

26. Photo: Petteri Sulonen / Flickr Creative Commons
Cleaning Day
Photo: Vantaan kaupunginkirjasto / FlickrCreative Commons http://siivouspaiva.com

27. Photo: Simo Karisalo
”Set the school free!
In this school anyone can
be a teacher.”
Tee-se-itse Koulu – DIY School
2012.kouluschool.org

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200 teachers and subjects
800 students

29. Classes from shoe polishing
to Socratean dialogue,
from consulting to knitting
a sock heel.

30. No one could have
curated the programme
of the School.
Photos: Simo Karisalo and other volunteers

31. Photo: Simo Karisalo
The task of the organiser is not to
decide on the content
but to create an inspiring
narrative and a functional setting
that enables people’s input and
interaction to flourish.
= meaningful action that
enables both ”we & just
like me”

32. Why do our citizens make
such good partners for
public authorities?

33. Characteristics and strengths
of Finnish culture
Trust, both in peers and
government
Non-hierarchic
Equality
Level and valuation of
education
Practicality
Openness and sharing
Percentage of population (25–34 yrs) with a post basic
level degree 1975–2005

34. Our greatest cultural institutions
share these characteristics
and are essential creators and
recreators of these strengths.
Free & universal school from
pre-school to PHD
Free and open libraries
Nation-wide network of music
schools
Nation-wide network of adult
education centres
Everyman rights in nature etc.

35. Our public authorities
should make very good
partners for our citizen,
and incubators of social
innovation.
Some of them already are.

36. First one to try on participatory
budgeting in Finland? Helsinki City Library
Fairytale birthday was one of the new
service ideas that made it into the budget.
Online film service
Library app for your
mobile phone, e.g. allows
borrowing library books
directly from a friend
who has borrowed
them the last. No
need to visit the library. Photo: Helsinki City Library

37. Share an example you are most
proud of when you have acted
as an incubator of (citizen-led)
social innovation.

38. Outi Kuittinen, Co-creation Lead
outi.kuittinen@demoshelsinki.fi
www.demoshelsinki.fi
slideshare.net/demoshelsinki
https://www.facebook.com/groups/
8838070791/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
demoshelsinki
Thank you.