Reducing the Use of Plastic Bags

Project description Plastic is a major source of marine littering damaging the sea. Plastics contain hazardous chemicals that easily dissolve in water. Plastic waste can also be harmful to animals – e.g. birds eat plastic debris mistaking them for food – becoming a rapidly increasing cause of mortality among various species. In addition, microscopic plastic … Read more

Accessibility of Buildings

Project description Accessibility in both old and new buildings is of growing national importance due to the ageing population that should be able to live independently at their homes in near future. The theme touches many other different groups as well – families with babies, people with disabilities or injury, just to name a few. … Read more

School Fruits and Vegetables Scheme

Project description Where are we now? Children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables is in decline in EU and remains below the recommended daily intake. The diet of children is shifting towards highly processed products, and overweight and obesity are increasing. WHO estimated that every third children between 6 and 9 years old in EU are … Read more

Primary Producer’s Notifications

Project description Where are we now? The primary producers of food shall notify their activities to several authorities and registers within the administrative sector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MMM). There are many levels of legislations (EU, national, sector by sector) that govern which information to be notified for food safety, animal health … Read more

Project Piazza

Project description Where are we now? Finnish government is in need of a platform where information about RDI (research, development and innovation) projects can be stored and searched easily by decision-makers, by researchers, funding organisations. It is recognised, for example, that policymakers need to have access to the most recent research findings in order to … Read more

Bottom-up ‘Mobility as Service’

Project description In Finland today, the public transportation system is ‘one size fits all’. There continues a need to provide a basic ‘guarantee’ of public transport, but the system is under-serving some users and over-serving others and, overall, consuming more public resources than necessary. This project in DfG will focus on citizen needs and on … Read more

Energy and Maintenance in Finnish Housing Companies

Project description Housing companies in Finland have a strong and unique role. The built environment accounts for about 30% of national energy consumption, thus it is a critical area in Finnish climate policy. There are 2 major challenges for housing companies: the massive ‘renovation era’ already underway for 1960-80s building stock, and; sustainability and energy … Read more

Waste Prevention by Extending (Electronic Product) Lifecycle

Project description The next National Waste Plan (Valtsu) will be renewed for 2017-2022, and it is currently being prepared by the Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE). Regions will their make own waste management plans based on Valtsu, and each has different strategies and possibilities (f.ex. existing infrastructure, geography, population and demography). SYKE is focusing on 4 … Read more

Civil Servant 2.0: Future Work of Civil Servants

Project description Transformations in our society necessitate parallel transformation in civil servants’ work practices, cultures and roles. Responsive and effective and trustworthy policy-making today (in the ‘post-truth’ era) requires a high degree of awareness, collaboration, agility and trust within diverse ‘ecosystems’ of stakeholders working together across sectors towards common societal challenges and goals. This paradigm … Read more

A Model for Regional Sustainable Circular Food

Project description In Finland, food accounts for a fifth of consumers’ environmental impacts and potential climate change impacts food production, industry, self-sufficiency and security. There are currently a variety of risks and bottlenecks – as well as particular strengths – in the food system. To address these grand challenges, the Finnish government has set a … Read more