Board Report and Financial Statements 2009: Sitra further specified its strategy – finances well-balanced

In 2009, Sitra further specified its strategy and operating model so that they better support Sitra’s common objectives. These objectives include the comprehensive well-being of citizens, Finland becoming an international model of a sustainable society, and reinforcing Sitra’s role as a visionary, reformer, and an initiator of systemic changes creating well-being.

− We have strong confidence in Finland as an agile, highly educated and cooperative country becoming one of the leading countries in the world with regard to meeting the aforementioned objectives. All of our programmes and development projects aim to reach these strategic objectives, says President Mikko Kosonen.

The Municipal Programme and the Energy Programme gained full momentum with regard to all of their projects. The Municipality Programme’s service centre projects, for example, have attracted extensive interest in the municipal sector.

The Low2No City Block in Jätkäsaari in Helsinki, launched by the Energy Programme, has focused interest on the challenges related to climate change in urban design and construction. The Jätkäsaari project has also attracted international interest. The interim report of the Growth Programme for the Mechanical Industry stated that the programme was doing the right thing at the right time.

In 2009, Sitra prepared two new programmes: the Public Leadership and Management Programme, and the Landmarks Programme. Both were launched at the beginning of 2010. The objective of the four-year Public Leadership and Management Programme is to help public administration in leadership and management challenges and to create and test new leadership and management models and operating models suitable for the public administration. The five-year Landmarks Programme open-mindedly seeks new perspectives and promotes innovative activities in order to find new meanings for the countryside.

When further specifying the strategy, Sitra reinforced its range of methods. The programme activities remained as they were, while the Board of Sitra decided to more extensively enable systemic changes through pilot projects and inquiry activities, such as foresight, reviews and seminars. By means of renewed inquiry activities, Sitra aims to introduce new perspectives and increase understanding of new phenomena and the key challenges in the society.

In the autumn of 2009, Sitra also launched the Wellsprings of the Finnish Vitality development programme. The programme aims to increase understanding of the depth of the ongoing social and economic transition and promote decision-maker and opinion-leader commitment to the measures required by the changes.

Sitra’s finances are well-balanced

Sitra’s activities are financed by the yield from its endowment capital and the return on its venture capital investments. As a result of the surplus accrued in favourable investment years from 2003 to 2007, Sitra’s finances have also maintained a balance in the decline of recent years.

The market value of Sitra’s endowment capital at the end of 2009 was EUR 679.3 million. The market value of the endowment capital has varied greatly due to the market movements that have taken place on the stock market. The invested assets yielded +14.6% in 2009, whereas the yield of the previous year was -19.8%.

Sitra has also sought solutions for issues related to Finland’s competitiveness and well-being by means of active business development and investment activities either in target companies, funds or sectors selected according to Sitra’s strategy. Sitra’s investment activities have not only sought returns, but investment decisions have promoted the launch of new kinds of businesses, and the establishment of new operating models, and in this way created new growth sectors in Finland.

As a result of the diligent management of finances, Sitra can also continue its diverse activities to the full over the next few years, which is imperative in order to promote the upcoming significant structural changes.

For more information, please contact:       

Mikko Kosonen, President, tel. +358 9 6189 9289
Teppo Turkki, Communications Director, tel. +358 9 6189 9497
firstname.lastname@sitra.fi

Board report and financial statements 2009 (pdf)

Brochure (pdf)