Ministry of Justice, Finland

An appraisal of administration in Finland conducted in 2000 is one of the factors in the background of policy programmes. One of the features that it identified was the sector-specific character of administration. Within the State administration, each ministry acts independently without the collective will of the Government necessarily being in evidence. One means of responding to this is to increase the powers of the Prime Minister and of the Prime Minister’s Office. Another is provided by the concept of programme directing, which is now being experimented with for the first time.

When a government is being formed, 3 – 5 central areas of emphasis are agreed on. This is done on the basis of the debate conducted during the election campaign; programme directing is a means of adding policy to politics. With respect to each area of emphasis, the relevant ministries are formed into groups, in each of which one ministry is assigned overall responsibility. Each programme is directed by a group of ministers headed by the responsible minister, who is supported in his or her work by a programme director and an assistant.

The totality of programmes is decided on by the Government in a separate, annually-updated strategy document. A policy programme has only a small amount of funding at its own disposal. The essential work is done by ministries as their own projects. Most of the funding derives from ministries re-channelling their activities. The projects are monitored and reported on collectively.

Citizen Participation Policy Programme is one of four programmes adopted by the Vanhanen Government. Responsibility for it has been assigned to Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen, and the ministerial group he heads comprises Antti Kalliomäki (Education), Tanja Saarela (Culture), Ulla-Maj Wideroos (Finance) and Hannes Manninen (Interior). The programme director is Seppo Niemelä. The other government policy programmes relate to the information society, enterprise and employment.

Updated on October 10, 2005