Open and shared city

Open government in the City of Oulu (FI) means bringing its activities closer to citizens. The city strives to be a responsible and trustworthy provider of digital services to ensure that everyone can access city services, and sees all organisations as valuable partners.

Oulu’s annual Regional Civic Organisation Academy events serve as a meeting place for the city and region of Oulu and regional organisations, including the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia. The goal of the Academy events is to reinforce organisational work in the city and region of Oulu, by supporting collaborations with the public sector, to create a clear structure that benefits all organisations. 

Finland participates in the international Open Government Partnership (OGP), focusing on three key goals: promoting transparent open governance and participation of citizens, harnessing technology to improve governance, and fighting corruption. 

Oulu is the only city in Finland to develop an Open Government Action Plan at regional level so far. The plan’s priority areas for improving open governance are: 

• Openness and Comprehensibility. 

• Trust and Responsibility. 

• Accessibility and Availability. 

• Human-Focus and Participation. 

Regional Civic Organisation Academy events bring together organisations and the public sector. The goal is to reinforce organisational cooperation in North Ostrobothnia and the city of Oulu, and to highlight good practices. Dialogue is central and, at the 2024 event, Finland’s Civic Society Organisations Strategy was discussed with the Ministry of Justice. 

Oulu is the only city in Finland to compile a local Open Government Action Plan. Progress in implementing the goals of the Plan’s four priority areas (openness, trust, accessibility, and participation) is evaluated regularly.

Tackling inequality, marginalisation and loneliness in the city requires cooperation, a shared will, and concrete actions between the city and diverse organisations at the local level. Oulu’s Regional Civic Organisation Academy events also give voice to the opinions of children and young people, and provide a forum to discuss the resourcing of organisational activities.

The implementation of the Civic Organisations Strategy coordinated by the Ministry of Justice at local level is discussed at the Oulu events, including goals to tackle urban development challenges. Other topics discussed, during panel sessions and theme cafés, include support for volunteer activities, and sharing good practices.

The events also align with the Ministry of Finance’s application of Finland’s national Open Government Action Plan framework and the results of the OECD Confidence Survey, which provides an index for public trust and confidence in national governments. 

Regional Civic Organisation Academy events are co-planned with organisations, youth councils, the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia, the Council of the Oulu Region, and the Advisory Board for Organisations, and Finland’s Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Finance. 

The event planning process is participatory, with multiple shared meetings to finalise the programme and speakers. Each party commits to that year’s event, and oversees the speakers and theme cafés they represent. Long-term collaboration strengthens the commitment of partners to organising and promoting the event, and its long-term continuation. 

Feedback shows that the Oulu’s annual Regional Civic Organisation Academy events have been successful. For example, Youth Council members noted that the events brought them new contacts and networks. These events enhance regional cooperation, and raise awareness of organisational cooperation by providing opportunities for networking and discussions.

Regional Civic Organization Academy offers a forum for encounters and enables co-creation for the processing and dialogue for current phenomena (such as racism and loneliness) in theme cafés. The event increases awareness between different operators in the changing processes concerning organizations’ structures.   

In 2023, 90 participants took part in the event, with another 87 participants following the event via live broadcast. All materials from the 2022 and 2023 events can be found on the City of Oulu’s website, and the recording of the 2023 event can be found on its YouTube channel (in Finnish).

The events increase local cooperation and raise national awareness, and also promote consistency of practice across the public sector, state government and county's wellbeing services. 

Under EU Cohesion Policy goal 5 (supporting community-led sustainable development), the City of Oulu promotes openness of governance to support local participation and regional development. Regional inclusion is also mentioned in the Urban Agenda for the EU, which is considered central to the Regional Civic Organisation Academy. 

Oulu, as the European Capital of Culture in 2026, launched volunteer registration and open programme applications in 2024. A central goal of Oulu2026 is to promote equality and diversity in the culture sector. 

Finland joined the international Open Government Partnership Project in 2013, in which each country commits to openness of government and citizen participation within two-to-four-year action programmes. Finland’s fifth Open Government Action Plan was launched in October 2023. Oulu’s Open Government Action Plan, which aligns with the national programme, is transferable to other cities.

Oulu’s good practice, of organising annual events to promote open governance, is relevant for other European cities, as it fosters trust toward city operations and strengthens democracy. Its successful transfer requires cooperative planning and participation, getting to know members of organisations to make lasting contacts, and receiving good feedback on city services.

To facilitate the transfer of Oulu’s Regional Civic Organisation Academy example, all the materials of previous events are publicly accessible on the city’s website and YouTube channel. A Regional Civic Organisation Academy event has also been organised in Jyväskylä, based on an event organised in Oulu.