Storifying Societal Innovation for Sitra

Sitra, Finland's Innovation Fund, operates as an independent organization reporting directly to the Finnish Parliament. This future-oriented change agent collaborates with diverse partners to anticipate emerging societal challenges and accelerate transformative solutions that advance both sustainable well-being and national competitiveness. In its renewed strategy, Sitra has positioned social innovation as a central priority, recognizing that Finland's capacity for societal renewal and sustainable growth are fundamentally interconnected. Growth—or rather, the lack of it—dominates much of today's conversation in Finland. Simultaneously, the country grapples with longstanding challenges: shifting demographics and the pressing ecological crisis. The prevailing narrative suggests that once growth is secured, these problems can be addressed. But what if this assumption is backwards? What if societal innovation actually paves the way to sustainable growth? This question sparked Sitra to reach out to us to help 'storify' the concept of societal innovation. Together, we developed a series of articles that move beyond innovation jargon to explore what societal innovation means—and what it could become—through both familiar examples and fresh perspectives.

Sitra wants to spread awareness of societal innovation widely across Finnish society. The more actors who see themselves as agents of change—whether from public institutions, NGOs, businesses, or individual citizens—the better Finland can navigate its renewal. The original brief called for a comprehensive single article covering societal innovation with multiple examples. However, we recognized a fundamental challenge: in today's saturated communication landscape, even well-crafted articles risk getting lost in the flood, undermining the goal of broad reach. In our response, we suggested splitting the content into three focused articles, each exploring a distinct dimension of societal innovation. The first examines the temporal aspect—how innovation emerges from acute needs and a sense of urgency. The second delves into the social and human elements. The final piece distinguishes societal innovation from other types of innovation and explores why these differences matter for Finland's sustainable growth and renewal. Throughout each article, real-life examples—both historical and contemporary—bring this complex concept down to earth. Historical innovations like Finland's comprehensive school reform and the child care clinic system sit alongside modern initiatives such as today's National Dialogues, offering concrete touchpoints that make societal innovation tangible and accessible.