Sitra’s strategy 2022

What is Sitra?

Sitra is an accountable and independent future-oriented  fund that is influential nationally and internationally and acts as a think tank, promoter of experiments and operating models and a catalyst for co-operation. In being accountable to  Parliament, our future-oriented work is funded with returns on investments based on endowment capital received originally at the behest  of Parliament.

Why do we exist?

We are building a successful Finland for tomorrow. That is both our mission and our statutory mandate.

What kind of future are we moving towards?

Our vision is that Finland will prosper by building a fair, sustainable and inspiring future that ensures people’s well-being within the limits of the earth’s carrying capacity.  Read more about our vision here.

What kind of change do we pursue?

We have five goals we work for every day:

1. The ecological reconstruction of society and everyday life ensures adaptation to the earth’s carrying capacity.
2. The economy is renewed in a manner that aims at increased competitiveness in compliance with the principles of sustainable and responsible development.
3. Engagement and influencing opportunities strengthen democracy.
4. The possible directions of future development are well known in Finland, different kinds of future are widely discussed and action is taken on the basis of future knowledge.
5. Society’s capacity for change and co-operation increases.

What are we doing to attain our vision and goals?

Our work focuses on three themes: finding solutions to the ecological sustainability crisis, promoting a fair data economy and strengthening democracy and engagement. The renewal of the economy aiming at sustainability and competitiveness is  closely linked with all our operations.

THEME: Sustainability solutions

We strengthen biodiversity and accelerate ecological reconstruction. We promote in practice the transition towards a society that improves the state of the environment and enables everyone to adapt to the earth’s carrying capacity.  We drive an ambitious climate policy, boost a fair and competitive circular economy and encourage people to take action for sustainability action.

THEME: Fair data economy

We build a human-driven, fair data economy based on the European value base as an alternative to a state-driven or monopoly-driven data economy. This means that we promote changes in economic structures, such as regulation and rules, increase peoples’ opportunities to affect the use of data and offer practical tools to companies operating in the data markets.

THEME: Democracy and engagement

We strengthen democracy and influence the building of an inspiring future.  We renew and develop democratic structures, procedures and means of participation and interaction, among other things . We especially focus on investigating how network-based approaches and algorithm and data-based ways of acting and influencing can be harnessed to support democracy, engagement and co-operation.

Our future-oriented work will be based on foresight and societal training that aim at increasing future knowledge, future-oriented thinking, capacity for change, and co-operation.

Who are our partners as we build a successful Finland for tomorrow?

Change needs all of us. Our work and objectives demands that we engage in extensive national and international collaboration at all levels. Our perspective and co-operative network are global, but we primarily aim to influence Finnish society.