Day 1: Government´s strategy instruments in Finland Virpi Einola-Pekkinen 10.1.2011

Government structure in Finland There are 12 ministries in Finland. Each ministry is, within its mandate, responsible for the preparation of issues that fall within the scope of the Government and also for the proper functioning of administration. Ministries’ mandates are laid down in the Government Rules of Procedure and their duties in decrees issued on the ministries. The ministries together employ about 5,000 people.

Ministries Prime Minister's Office www.vnk.fi/english Ministry for Foreign Affairs formin.finland.fi/english Ministry of Justice www.om.fi/en Ministry of the Interior www.intermin.fi/en Ministry of Defence www.defmin.fi/english Ministry of Finance www.ministryoffinance.fi Ministry of Education and Culture www.minedu.fi Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry www.mmm.fi/en Ministry of Transport and Communications www.lvm.fi/web/en Ministry of Employment and the Economy www.tem.fi Ministry of Social Affairs and Health www.stm.fi/en/ Ministry of the Environment www.environment.fi/ym

The Government’s Employees per Administrative Branch, April 2010   04/2010 President’s office 88 Prime Minister’s office 271 Ministry for Foreign Affairs 1 573 Ministry of Justice 9 646 Ministry of the Interior 15 841 Ministry of Defence 16 071 Ministry of Finance 13 180 Ministry of Education and Culture 3 561 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 5 323 Ministry of Transport and Communications 2 334 Ministry of Employment and the Economy 13 143 Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 3 882 Ministry of the Environment 1 022 In total 85 935

The Government’s policy in Finland is based on the Government Programme, the tool whereby the Government strives to meet the great challenges facing Finland The cornerstones of the Programme are: an economic strategy taking account of the requirements set by Global competition and the ageing population Reforms of social security and publicly funded welfare services that improve people’s social security and well-being and Responsible climate and energy policy. The objective of economic policy is to accelerate the growth of productivity and to increase employment.

Government Programme and the Budget The constitution requires the Government to establish the Government Programme and to present it to the Parliament as a report. The Government Programme defines the main lines of fiscal policy. In the Government Programme are included the fiscal policy rules and targets and spending limits for the electoral period. The budget proposal is drawn up in accordance with these guidelines.

The Finnish programme management reform Programme management is a new policy coordination method at the centre of the Government and consists of three main elements: a limited number of intersectoral Government policy programmes the Government Strategy Document process and the Government’s mid-term policy-review sessions. aims at more horizontal and strategic policymaking and ensuring effective implementation of the Government’s political agenda.

The Government´s strategic tools

Intersectoral policy programmes agreed in the Government Policy programme for employment, entrepreneurship and worklife Policy programme for health promotion Policy programme for the well-being of children, youth and families. In addition a number of subject areas under special monitoring: climate and energy know-how and innovations revision of administration restructuring of local government and services social security, social exclusion and social security reform preparing for ageing security and Finland’s international position.

The main objective of programme management reform was to strengthen the strategic capacity of the central government by concentrating on the horizontal political priorities. The reform aims at more strategic and horizontal policymaking and stronger political steering as well as simultaneously ensuring an effective horizontal implementation of the Government’s political agenda. As part of programme management reform it has been of utmost importance to closely link the Government Programme monitoring process to the Government budgetary process. The most important issue is that the schedules of the two main processes of the Government are annually linked together.

These overall objectives can be broken down into more specific objectives as follows • To improve the Prime Minister’s possibilities to manage and monitor horizontal Government policies and actions. • To strengthen individual ministers’ possibilities to participate in the collective work of the Government. • To enhance effective and well-functioning coordination within the central administration. • To profit from modern management tools, based on networking, both administratively and politically.

Management structure of policy programmes Each policy programme is led by a coordinating minister, and ministerial groups have been appointed to plan the programme and to monitor its implementation. The ministerial groups consist of ministers whose mandates are linked with the programme themes. The coordinating ministers are assisted by full-time programme directors in the coordinating minister’s ministry. For more detailed preparation and monitoring, each programme has a management group consisting of civil servants from the ministries that are relevant in view of the programme objectives. The management group supports and assists the programme director.

Government Strategy Document the Government issued a Resolution on 5 December 2007 enhances the means available to the Government for promoting, steering and monitoring the implementation of the Government Programme especially in matters requiring intersectoral cooperation emphasises the indicators used in monitoring the implementation of the Government Programme.

The main objectives of the programme are to ensure that people’s work input is utilised as fully as possible that substantial improvements can be achieved in the productivity of work and in the quality of worklife at Finnish workplaces during the coming decades, and that entrepreneurship and enterprise growth gain more appeal. One example: POLICY PROGRAMME FOR EMPLOYMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND WORKLIFE

Some examples of objectives and indicators

Some examples of objectives and indicators