On 4–5 March 2026, the partnership of the Strategic Foresight Partnership (SFP) project met in Helsinki for the second interregional exchange meeting, hosted by the Helsinki–Uusimaa Regional Council. The meeting represented an important learning opportunity focused on strategic foresight practices applied to public policies.

Over the two days, SFP partners took part in a rich programme of presentations, discussions and study visits, aimed at understanding how strategic foresight is integrated into decision-making processes in the Helsinki–Uusimaa region, widely recognised as one of Europe’s most advanced areas in this field.

Day 1

The first day placed a strong emphasis on the role of cities. The City of Vantaa presented the work of its strategic foresight unit, active since 2025. The unit operates in parallel across three areas: strengthening futures literacy within the municipal administration; producing future-oriented information and data to support decision-making; and systematically linking foresight activities with both top management and day-to-day operational management.

The programme also included a visit to the Helsinki XR Center at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, allowing participants to explore the potential of immersive technologies as tools to support the exploration and communication of possible futures.

The day concluded with a reflection on urban futures co-creation practices presented by Forum Virium Helsinki, which showcased urban transformation projects centred on collaborative innovation, experimentation and anticipation in urban policies.

Academic and experimental approaches were also presented during the day, including the experience of ResLab at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, which integrates systems thinking, design thinking and futures studies to address educational and social challenges.

Day 2

The second day broadened the perspective to the national level, with contributions from the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA and the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Established in 1997 by the Finnish Parliament, SITRA is an independent foundation whose mission is to identify emerging changes and help people and institutions imagine possible futures. It is a key actor in Finland’s strategic foresight system, providing shared reference frameworks (megatrends), operational tools, and strong integration between futures analysis, sustainability and public policy.

During the meeting, SITRA presented its work on the Megatrends 2026 and the National Foresight Network. The SITRA Foresight Friday format was also introduced: a series of open events promoted within the National Foresight Network, designed to spread anticipatory thinking, discuss megatrends and strengthen a shared foresight culture, with potential applications at international level as well.

Significant attention was devoted to strategic foresight applied to skills, the labour market and vocational education and training. The Helsinki vocational education institute Stadin AO presented its futures literacy programme for students, aimed at strengthening their capacity to engage with the future in line with GreenComp, the European sustainability competence framework published in 2022.

The visit concluded with contributions from the City of Helsinki, which presented very diverse applications of strategic foresight: from the exploration of scenarios up to 2075—an extremely long-term horizon with a visionary dimension—to short-term future exercises (five years) aimed at exploring opportunities related to the digitalisation of municipal services.

Key learnings for the SFP project

The Finnish experiences highlighted several cross-cutting messages particularly relevant for the SFP project:

• foresight is not just a set of tools, but a mindset embedded within public organisations;
• the effectiveness of foresight depends on its stable integration into decision-making cycles, rather than on isolated exercises;
• the connection between regional, urban and national levels strengthens policy capacity to address long-term uncertainty.

The insights gathered during the Helsinki meeting will contribute to the upcoming activities of the SFP project, supporting capacity-building actions for the regional stakeholder group.