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Tampere Centre for Societal Sustainability

Daily life, governance, politics

Our research examines the connections and tensions between people’s everyday lives and systems of societal governance.

We are interested in how individuals and communities strive toward a better life and a more sustainable society. Our work examines how everyday practices and experiences are shaped by administrative arrangements, policy lines and measures, and societal structures. Another key focus is how everyday practices and experiences, in turn, shape governance, policies, and structures.

In other words, we seek to understand how policies, structures, and administrative practices both constrain and enable people’s actions and aspirations. Our work thus highlights the social and political possibilities that manifest in people’s everyday lives: in their participation in various communities and in society, as well as in their professional roles.

Current projects

MERGE (Measuring What Matters: Improving Usability and Accessibility of Policy Frameworks and Indicators for Multidimensional Well-being through Collaboration) is a European Union–funded project that promotes, in practice, policy measures and indicators that support multidimensional well-being.

 

MAPS (Models, Assessment, and Policies for Sustainability) is a European Union–funded research project that develops policy alternatives, models, and evaluation tools that strengthen sustainability, equality, and well-being.

 

PULSE (Participatory Green Futures) is a European Union-funded research project that develops and examines participatory cultural practices and governance tools to support inclusive, place-based, and socially just green transitions in urban communities

Past projects

ToBe (Towards a Sustainable Wellbeing Economy: Integrated Policies and Transformative Indicators) is a European Union–funded research project that studies and develops policy practices as well as new indicators for measuring a more sustainable economy.

ToBe

The ORSI project steers the welfare state toward operating within the limits of environmental carrying capacity. We seek fair and swift ways for public administration to guide this transformation. We study governance and budgeting, everyday participation, responsible innovation, and the steering of consumption choices. We bring citizens, decision-makers, and businesses together to the same table.

ORSI

The Ecological Transition in Pirkanmaa project brings together various stakeholders to explore how vitality can be redefined from a socially and ecologically sustainable perspective. In collaborative development processes, in addition to climate and sustainability work, the needs of businesses and RDI (research, development, and innovation) activities are also taken into account.

 

Sustainable Urban Well-being research explored: How do municipal organizations perceive the role of residents in promoting sustainable urban well-being? And how can resident-based knowledge be utilized to improve municipal management, operations, and decision-making? The research probes sustainable urban well-being as an issue that requires multifaceted cooperation between municipal organizations and residents.

Doctoral research