AI-powered tool helps public administration – citizens consulted in decision preparation

Sitra and its partners are introducing a digital consultation tool for public administration. It will help officials choose the right consultation method and carry out consultation on a wider scale than at present across public sector organisations.

This AI-powered tool for officials suggests participation methods suited to each project, assesses resource needs and supports implementation, among others. The aim is more efficient preparation and greater citizen trust in public decision-making.

The Digital assistant for consultation and preparation brings scattered method information in one place and lowers the threshold for participation in public sector preparation and decision-making.

This is significant for two reasons. The environment for decision-making has become increasingly demanding, and at the same time, according to the OECD (pdf), Finns’ sense of their own ability to influence decisions remains weak. Both factors, in turn, are reflected in citizens’ trust in public administration and in society more broadly.

“The tool does not replace an official’s judgement – it supports it. When it becomes easier to find a participation method suited to the situation and the need at hand, the threshold for involving citizens in preparation is lower,” says Senior Lead Pauli Saloranta who is leading the project at Sitra.

The first pilot version of the consultation and preparation tool was presented to stakeholders at an online event on Friday 21 August 2026. At this stage, the tool is designed for use by ministries, but the testing phase is also open to the wellbeing services counties and municipalities.

Choosing the right method is of paramount importance

At the event, a memorandum supporting the development of the tool was also published. Professor of Co-design at Aalto University Sampsa Hyysalo’s: How to Choose the Right Means for Citizen Participation? Opportunities and Challenges of Intelligent Recommender Applications (summary in English) brings together lessons from the current and earlier participation tools.

“Successful participation improves the quality of preparation, but choosing the right method is difficult: there are hundreds of methods, and their purpose, resource requirements and strengths vary considerably. That is why it is essential to identify which choice of method genuinely improves preparation,” Hyysalo emphasises.

Furthermore, Maija Jäske, senior researcher at the University of Turku, presented a memo she has written to support the development of the tool, due to be published shortly. The memo focuses on the consultation of civil society organisations as part of preparation.

“In order to keep drawing on the expertise of civil society organisations in preparation, ministries should develop consultation procedures and digital tools that better recognise the diversity of voices and the resource pressures within the sector,” says Jäske.

Focus on rolling the tool out widely across public administration

We will continue developing the consultation and preparation tool during the testing phase in autumn 2026, together with public administration developers, consultation method experts and AI specialists.

Once the knowledge base and underlying system are up and running, tailored versions of the tool could also be developed for the wellbeing services counties, municipalities and citizens.

Our partners in the first phase are the Ministry of Finance (Open Government Unit), the Ministry of Justice (Democracy Unit) and the rest of central government. We also cooperate internationally, for instance with the OECD.