Finland is unprepared for the uncertainty of socio-environmental crises
While the level of preparedness in Finnish society is often considered high, many public organisations are unable to effectively respond to the growing prevalence and intensification of socio-environmental problems.
A recent study in the field of sociology and interdisciplinary social sciences identifies three distinct modes in which Finnish public organisations build resilience: firstly as operational action and readiness, secondly as prevention and planning, and thirdly as exploring and sketching the unknown. In the context of the study, resilience refers to society’s capacity to cope with or recover from various societal and environmental challenges such as extreme weather conditions.
According to the research, resilience for socio-environmental crises should be built on the smooth cooperation of these three approaches. However, such cooperation was rarely achieved in the studied organisations.
The findings reveal several problems. Complex uncertainties that extend far into the future are often directly translated into operational action and everyday readiness. “It is necessary to prepare for everything, everywhere” is the common mindset.
As a result, exploring uncertainties and distant futures is not successfully connected to the established planning and modelling work carried out by large organisations. Moreover, the practices of maintaining readiness and planning are often so deeply institutionalised and routinised that the uncertainties, long timeframes, and complexities characteristic of climate and environmental crises cannot be adequately considered. For example, they are largely excluded from models used to forecast the future of state and municipal finance.
The ability to understand unpredictable threats is becoming increasingly important as environmental risks evolve and intensify. However, incorporating them into existing foresight practices is currently not functioning smoothly.
“Preparing for uncertain but worsening future socio-environmental risks should be systematically connected to existing planning and readiness,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Anna Salomaa, the lead author of the article.
“Even though preparedness planning and readiness are on a solid footing in Finland, their limitations become apparent in the face of environmental crises. The novelty of our research lies in diagnosing the institutional disjointments in building resilience,” says the group leader, Professor of Sociology at Tampere University, Turo-Kimmo Lehtonen.
The study is based on extensive qualitative data, gathered through interviews with 58 preparedness and resilience experts from various sectors of public administration.
Strategic policy exercises for decision-makers
The research was conducted as part of a broad consortium that designed strategic policy-making exercises called ‘policy operation rooms’ for city decision-makers and experts. They were carried out within the LONGRISK research consortium funded by the Research Council of Finland (Decision support to manage long-term growth of environmentally induced multi-hazard risks in urban areas). In 2022, the project organised exercises for civil servants and political leaders in the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Tampere, and Kotka. The exercises explored new forms of policymaking to prepare for complex environmental crises.
The aim of the exercises was to combine the cities’ long-term political goals with cross-sectoral expertise in a way that could address the chronic uncertainty brought about by climate crises.
In other words, the goal was to experimentally link the three modes of building resilience. Such methods are increasingly needed in decision-making and planning in the era of worsening socio-environmental crises.
Research article:
Salomaa, A., T. Reinekoski, H. Salminen, K. Krivochenitser, J. I. Hukkinen, and T.-K. Lehtonen. 2025. Disjointed modes of building resilience to socio-environmental crises. Ecology and Society 30(1):6.
For more information, please contact:
Professor Turo-Kimmo Lehtonen, Tampere University
+358 50 318 7312, turo-kimmo.lehtonen [at] tuni.fi
Postdoctoral Researcher Anna Salomaa, LUT University
+358 50 433 6998, anna.salomaa [at] lut.fi
