Public Policy and Governance
About the research group
Who We Are: The Public Policy and Governance (PPG) research group brings together over 60 researchers to advance cutting-edge theoretical and empirical research in the field of Administrative Sciences. The versatile expertise of our group members combines managerial, regulatory, and spatial aspects of public policy and governance in a unique setting. Our mission is to provide research-based insights and tools that support public institutions, managers, leaders and policymakers in navigating complex challenges and fostering effective public administration through anticipatory governance.
Our Research Themes: We focus on three interconnected areas that reflect our diverse expertise:
- Governance of Complex Systems: Investigating how public institutions respond to uncertainties, societal problems and operate within multi-level governance through legal and regulatory frameworks and democratic processes.
- Public Sector Transformation: Exploring how public management reforms, innovations, digitalization and organizational and regional changes contribute to sustainable development and enhance adaptive capacities in the public sector.
- Policies and Practices for Public Value: Examining how policies are designed, implemented, and evaluated to meet citizen needs and foster resilience, well-being and long-term societal impact.
These areas build on the research topics of our researchers in the fields of public management, public law, regional studies, and social and health management.
Our Impact: We advance leading governance research in close collaboration with our academic and societal stakeholders locally, nationally and internationally. We actively publish in high-quality journals and regularly contribute to our key academic communities such as the IRSPM, EGPA and Eu-SPRI, as well as editorial boards including Public Management Review.
We are deeply committed to creating societal impact through our research projects that drive innovative and sustainable societal transformation. Together with our collaborators such as the City of Vaasa, the Wellbeing Services County of Ostrobothnia, Finnish ministries and the European Commission, we co-create knowledge that informs policy and practice.
Research-based Education: We maintain a strong research-teaching nexus, contributing to Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral programs in Administrative Sciences. Our research group supports the career development of future scholars and practitioners, producing 4–6 new PhDs annually. For those interested in doctoral studies, more detailed information about the thesis topics can be found in the team presentations and individual profiles.
Latest updates
Research projects
| Project | Duration | Actors |
|---|---|---|
| Be a Sport! Enhancing Systems Change of the Finnish Sport Policy (BESS) | - | Public policy and governance |
| NATUREACH – Nature Reachable for all | - | InnoLab, Digital Economy, Public policy and governance, Marketing and Communication |
| MISS – Practising mission-oriented innovation policy | - | SC-Research, Technology and Innovations, InnoLab, Public policy and governance, Management |
| Tiedon jalostamisen maantieteet laajennetuissa ajoissa ja tiloissa (BETH) | - | Public policy and governance, Digital Economy, Management |
| VATACO - Governing Transition to a Circular City: Engaging public and private stakeholders in the circular economy | - | Digital Economy, Public policy and governance, Management, Resilience |
| Safeguarding Welfare in Times of Pandemics: Towards Collaborative Governance of Syndemics (WELGO) | - | Public policy and governance, Complexity research, Management, Resilience |
| A Roadmap OUT of mEdical deserts into supportive Health WorkForce initiatives and policies (ROUTE-HWF) | - | InnoLab, Public policy and governance |
| GRETA— Green Transformation! A Policy tool for Regional Smart Specialisation in the Baltic Sea Area | - | Public policy and governance, Management, Resilience |
| Palvelujen pirunpolskasta nuorten nuotteihin | - | Public policy and governance, Complexity research, Management |
| Information Resilience in a Wicked Environment (IRWIN) | - | Auditing and control in accounting, Public policy and governance, Complexity research, Accounting and Finance, Management, Resilience |
Publications
| Publication year | Publication | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mätiä omenia poimimassa? Mediaskandaalit kestävyysmurroksessa | Autioniemi, Jari; Niskanen, Ville-Pekka |
| 2026 | Kartoittava katsaus sosiaalityöntekijän harkintavallasta lastensuojelussa | Björninen, Jussi; Jalonen, Harri; Kork, Anna-Aurora |
| 2026 | Läkarens straffrättsliga tjänsteansvar mot bakgrund av finsk rättspraxis | Muukkonen, Matti; Mäntylä, Niina |
| 2026 | Tekoäly tuo uusia haavoittuvuuksia varautumiseen | Känkänen, Janne; Uusikylä, Petri |
| 2026 | Asiantuntijuus päätöksenteossa – miksi tieto on yhä useammin kiistanalaista? | Jalonen, Harri |
| 2026 | Koronapandemian hallinta Suomessa: opit, haasteet ja kehittämiskohteet | Vogt, Henri; Taskinen, Mari; Immonen, Waltteri; Kling, Aaron; Pohjankoski, Pekka; Hakoniemi, Elina; Oksanen, Lotta-Maria; Tuomala, Juha; Hakola-Uusitalo, Tuulia; Jalonen, Harri; Rantamäki, Aino; Niskanen, Ville-Pekka; Uusikylä, Petri; Jalonen, Kari;… |
| 2026 | How generative AI companions alleviate situational vulnerability and enhance consumer well-being | Gamal Elkattan, Ahmed; Ekroos, Toni; Biscevic, Stefan; Ligthart, Ruusa; El-Manstrly, Dahlia |
| 2026 | Ammattina turvallisuus: tutkijatohtori Joonas Widlund | Widlund, Joonas |
| 2026 | Addressing Medical Deserts in Europe: Lessons From a Comparative Analysis | Domagała, Alicja; Dubas‐Jakóbczyk, Katarzyna; Gonzalez, Ana Isabel Gonzalez; Likic, Robert; Michalska, Kamila; Kowalska‐Bobko, Iwona; Sowada, Christoph; Flinterman, Linda; Dan, Sorin; Batenburg, Ronald |
| 2026 | Koronapandemian hallinta ja saadut opit Suomessa: Koronapandemian opetukset -tutkimushankkeen loppuraportti | Vogt, Henri; Oksanen, Lotta-Maria; Pettersson, Jenni; Sironen, Tarja; Aivelo, Tuomas; Zöldi, Viktor; Jalonen, Harri; Uusikylä, Petri; Niskanen, Ville-Pekka; Rantamäki, Aino; Heino, Matti T. J.; Ahonen, Pertti; Pohjankoski, Pekka; Brunila, Tuukka; Hakola-… |
Research group leaders
Research group members
Helka Kalliomäki
Antti Mäenpää
Ilkka Luoto
Christoph Demmke
Esa Hyyryläinen
Lotta-Maria Sinervo
Sorin Dan
Paula Rossi
Kirsi Lehto
Niina Mäntylä
Oyetade Oyewunmi
Jyri Paasonen
Laura Perttola
Kristian Siikavirta
Harri Jalonen
Anna Kork
Juha Lindell
Harri Raisio
Doctoral Researchers
- Anne Koski (anne.koski@student.uwasa.fi)
- Vanesa Numanovic (vanesa.numanovic@student.uwasa.fi)
- Elina Palovuori (elina.palovuori@student.uwasa.fi)
- Talvikki Ranta-Ylitalo (talvikki.ranta-ylitalo@student.uwasa.fi)
- Ville Karjalainen (ville.karjalainen@student.uwasa.fi)
- Evy Saputri (evy.saputri@student.uwasa.fi)
- Taina Schneider (taina.schneider@student.uwasa.fi)
- Anton Sigfrids (anton.sigfrids@student.uwasa.fi)
- Terhi Simonen-Jokinen (terhi.simonen-jokinen@student.uwasa.fi)
- Hanna Sykkö (hanna.sykko@student.uwasa.fi)
- Sonja Vieristö (sonja.vieristo@student.uwasa.fi)
- Ejike Okonkwo (ejike.okonkwo@student.uwasa.fi)
- Elina Norros (elina.norros@student.uwasa.fi)
