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Digital services Agendas and minutes Announcements

Future power

We are building the Tuusula of the future together with different resident groups. We are engaging in dialogue with residents as part of Sitra's Future Power programme.

A woman reads to two children

Resident participation is important to us. We have been looking for new ways to involve residents in the preparation of the municipal strategy. Our goal has been to gain a more diverse picture of residents’ views on what Tuusula will be like in the future. At the same time, we have sought to strengthen residents’ sense of involvement and create new, participant-driven ways of exercising future power. The development work has been part of Sitra’s Future Power programme.

People in different life situations

We have included underrepresented resident groups, i.e. groups that do not usually make their voices heard. In preparing the strategy, these groups included immigrants, people recovering from substance abuse, clients of a work centre for people with developmental disabilities, and people in job training. We tailored the participation method to suit each group.

Participation strengthened

According to our assessment, the participants’ experience of participation has been strengthened. We assessed the experiences of participation using the THL participation indicator and interviews. The participants felt a sense of meaning and belief in their own ability to influence their living environment. Their sense of belonging to the community was also strengthened.

Various opportunities for participation

We removed barriers to participation by organising childcare and interpreting services, bringing work to residential units, reimbursing costs and developing ways of participating that suited the participants.

To ensure that every participant was able to express their views, we created a safe and confidential atmosphere for the discussions. We used functional and visual methods, such as mushroom picking trips, drawing, support images and rules for constructive discussion.

We also developed practical tools to support the work:

  • strategy picture cards
  • visual basis for prioritisation
  • future wall
  • environmental quiz
  • workshop model,

The methods helped to concretise the participants’ wishes and ideas for the future of Tuusula in a way that was accessible to everyone involved.

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