Event

Towards Agentic State – Where should agentic AI be applied in the public sector?

What would change if we examined public work through shared functions rather than individual tools or organisations? On 17 September, Sitra, together with The Agentic State initiative, launches pioneering resources that map and assess the agentic AI potential across the Finnish public sector.

Location

Sitra, Itämerenkatu 11–13, Ruoholahti, Helsinki

Schedule

Thursday 17.09.2026 at 12.30-15.30

Registration


Reserve your place by 10 September, 16:00

Kaksi suurta, puoliläpinäkyvää maapalloa, joiden mantereiden ääriviivat on merkitty valkoisella, on ympäröity erikokoisilla pastellisävyisillä ympyröillä, ja kaikki tämä on sijoitettu pehmeän vaaleanpunaiselle taustalle.

AI pilots are under way across the public sector, yet significant productivity gains remain difficult to achieve. Similar work is still redesigned and procured separately in different organisations, cases stall at organisational boundaries and new technology is often added to existing processes without first reconsidering the work itself.

What would change if we examined public work through functions rather than only through organisations, services or individual tools? Receiving an application, assessing eligibility, issuing a permit or making a payment are all functions that recur across different organisations. Could this perspective help identify where agentic AI has the greatest potential to create value?

Finland is the first country in which this international function-based model has been tested at national level.

The event marks the launch of three pioneering resources that map and assess the agentic AI potential across Finland’s public sector:

  • The Agentic State foundation study First Moves: A Finland-Specific Assessment of Agentic AI Potential in Public Sector. Mapping over 23,000 verified instances of 70 recurring functions across 109 Finnish public sector organisations.
  • The First Moves interactive dashboard. A hands-on tool allowing participants to explore assessments by function, public body, and readiness dimension. 
  • Sitra’s working paper The Next Right Questions on the Path to the Agentic State. Outlining key stewardship, funding, and governance questions for Finland towards 2030.

Join us to explore what the assessment makes visible, what it does not yet prove, and what Finland should learn next.

The event is in-person only and takes place at Sitra in Ruoholahti. Space is limited, so please register soon, and by 10 September at 16:00.

Programme

12.30

13.00

Registration and coffee

13.00

13.05

Opening remarks: The questions to ask before getting caught up in the AI hype

Speaker
Antti Harjunpää

Antti Harjunpää

Senior Lead, Sitra

13.05

13.15

Framing the First Moves study: International context and researching Finnish Public Sector

Speakers
Luukas Ilves

Luukas Ilves

Author and Initiator, The Agentic State

Manuel Kilian

Manuel Kilian

Author and Initiator, The Agentic State

Simon Parazzoli

Simon Parazzoli

Author and Initiator, The Agentic State

13.15

13.35

First Moves: Finland’s public-sector agentic AI potential

Speaker
Luukas Ilves

Luukas Ilves

Author and Initiator, The Agentic State

13.35

13.45

Sitra’s working paper: The Next Right Questions on the Path to the Agentic State

Speaker
Public Sector Productivity Programme

Public Sector Productivity Programme

Sitra

13.45

13.50

The First Moves interactive dashboard

Speaker
Public Sector Productivity Programme

Public Sector Productivity Programme

Sitra

13.50

14.45

Workshop: From one function to a shared test

14.45

15.00

What should Finland learn next?

Speaker
Public Sector Productivity Programme

Public Sector Productivity Programme

Sitra

15.00

15.30

Demonstrations and conversations with experts

Speakers
The Agentic State

The Agentic State

Public Sector Productivity Programme, Sitra

Public Sector Productivity Programme, Sitra

15.30

The event ends

Further Information

Antti Harjunpää

Senior Lead, Public Sector Productivity Programme

Vaaleaihoinen ja vaaleatukkainen nainen, jolla on harmaa bleiseri ja musta toppi, poseeraa mustaa taustaa vasten ja katsoo kameraan neutraalilla ilmeellä ja punaisella huulipunalla.

Laura Tolppala

Coordinator, Programmes