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

2. 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.

3. Ministries Prime Minister's Office www.vnk.fi/english
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
formin.finland.fi/english
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of the Interior
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Education and Culture
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Ministry of Transport and
Communications
Ministry of Employment and
the Economy
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Ministry of the Environment

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. The Government´s strategic tools

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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

15. Some examples of objectives and indicators

16. Some examples of objectives and indicators