Sitra supports the improvement of the productivity of the public sector with EUR 50 million and directs its investments towards the growth of Finnish companies

Sitra will focus its activities more strongly on supporting domestic growth and Finland’s future success. The change is part of the financial and operational plan approved by Sitra’s Board of Directors, which was confirmed by the Supervisory Board at its meeting on 25 November 2025. 

Sitra will increase its investment tenfold in improving the productivity of the public sector and will allocate a total of EUR 50 million to this by the end of 2028.  

“The Finnish public sector needs to be reformed, especially in the current challenging economic situation. We are living in a moment of technological transformation, which offers an excellent opportunity for renewal. By addressing this, we can also improve the quality of public services,” says Atte Jääskeläinen, President of Sitra.

Close cooperation with public sector partners

In practice, Sitra provides public organisations with, for example, funding, leadership coaching, foresight information and expert support. At the core of the work are operating models that can be used to plan and implement reforms that utilise artificial intelligence so that they lead to significant and verifiable productivity benefits. The work will be carried out in cooperation with public sector partners.  

Funding also plays a key role. At the end of the year, Sitra will open a long-term call for funding to seek breakthrough projects with significant productivity impacts. In addition, a recurring call is carried out to fund the large-scale deployment of already functioning productivity solutions. The first round of this call was opened in November. For next year, Sitra has allocated a total of EUR 10 million in funding to the public sector productivity leap.

The aim of the special focus is for the Finnish public sector to be the best in the world at leveraging technological solutions by 2030.  The goal is also that growth companies developing artificial intelligence solutions in Finland would gain domestic references to boost exports to other countries. 

“We invite those who have developed and continue to develop the solutions to apply for our funding so that solutions that have been proven to generate productivity benefits would take root as established practices and spread as widely as possible throughout Finland,” says Jonna Heliskoski, Programme Director at Sitra. She leads the work to accelerate productivity in the public sector at Sitra.  

According to Heliskoski, solutions based on data and artificial intelligence offer a wide range of benefits.  
 
“For example, faster permit processes and the use of data also support business growth and competitiveness. New growth opportunities, and consequently jobs, may open up for companies that develop solutions. In the public sector, on the other hand, experts’ time can be freed up for more demanding tasks,” Heliskoski says. 

Sitra’s investment in the development of public sector productivity aims to achieve direct productivity gains of EUR 500 million by 2030 and indirect benefits of up to EUR 5 billion by 2035.  

“Success requires not only technological solutions for the utilisation of data and artificial intelligence, but above all change management. That is why we help public sector leaders renew the work of people and organisations,” Heliskoski says.  

The decision to increase the investment tenfold is based on work that Sitra already started in autumn 2024. At that time, Sitra launched a dialogue with public sector organisations to find out their needs and how Sitra could best support them in the large-scale utilisation of data and artificial intelligence.  

Based on the dialogue, Sitra launched its first funding initiatives in spring 2025. The first Sitra-funded pilots were launched in summer 2025. The transformation programme aimed at senior management in the public sector began in June 2025.

EUR 150 million for the growth of Finnish companies through private equity funds

In the future, Sitra will also use its investments in a more targeted manner to support domestic growth and Finland’s future success.  

Sitra is significantly increasing its investments in the domestic private equity market and will channel its investments through funds, particularly into Finnish growth companies. In the first phase, Sitra will invest approximately EUR 150 million in 2026–2030 to support the growth of Finnish companies.  

The aim of the change in investment strategy is to strengthen the Finnish private equity investment landscape so that companies can grow and develop under Finnish ownership. 

“Companies play a key role in creating economic growth. Sitra is now doing its part to enable the creation of larger private equity funds in Finland,” says Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sitra, which decided on the change in its investment strategy.  Sitra now makes all its investments through funds. At present, about 30 per cent of Sitra’s investments are directed to Finland. Private equity investments account for approximately 20 per cent of Sitra’s total investment portfolio. 

In order to find money for new projects, Sitra aims to achieve annual savings of two million euros in its operations next year. There are also plans to further reduce the number of personnel working in Finland. 

Sitra is an independent fund governed by public law and is accountable to Parliament. The Finnish Parliament established Sitra in 1967 to build a successful Finland of the future. Sitra does not use tax money from the state budget. It obtains funds for its operations primarily from the investment markets.