Funding for ethnographic research

The City of Helsinki reformed it’s leadership system and the new system was launched in summer 2017. In this leadership system the traditional bureau based system changed into a department based system and the civil planning of the proposals was separated from the political decision making with a new Mayor’s office.

Essential change in the officials of the Mayor’s office was that they were elected from the political representatives, instead of recruited from the job market. The change focus on the job descriptions, job environment, job practices  of the employees, supervisor-employee relationships, and the coordination of actions.

This leadership change aims to achieve positive results in the following six sub-sets: 1. The inhabitant oriented approach in the service ensemble improves, 2. There will be better opportunities for participation and interaction both in the city and the suburb level, 3. The steering of the city ensemble will improve, 4. Preparation and the decision making stay clearly separated, 5. The operative conditions for the City Council members improve, 6. City’s operational productivity and financial effectivity will improve.

In the research project planned together with the city of Helsinki, Virpi Sorsa and Jouni Virtaharju will study with ethnographic approach whether the goals for the change will be achieved and if the new leadership system will influence the city organization’s operation in the new departments.