Participation refers to a person’s experience of being included in a group and having opportunities to influence matters that are important to them. It is important for everyone to feel seen, heard and valued in their everyday lives, as well as at places such as health stations, maternity and child health clinics or senior centres.
‘Effective services are built in cooperation with our clients. That is why we listen to people’s experiences, gather feedback and use it to develop our services,’ says Anna-Kaisa Tukiala, Manager of Participation and Interaction.
It is important for the people of Helsinki to be able to influence their own lives and everyday life through equal opportunities for participation. In health and social services, this can mean for example, participating in the planning of one’s own care or in service development through expert-by-experience activities or customer panels, or simply by giving feedback.
Priorities of the participation plan
A partipation plan has been drafted for the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division as part of the participation and interaction model of the City. The Division committee approved the participation plan in May 2026. The plan covers the City’s strategic period 2026–2029. The new participation plans of the City’s Divisions have shared priorities which are based on the City Strategy. Furthermore, the service strategy of the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division functions as the backbone of the participation plan.
The participation priorities for the 2026–2029 period are:
- promoting equality and pluralism by means of participation,
- strengthening local influencing and regional participation, and
- smooth services and a good customer experience by means of participation.
The services improve the participation of vulnerable residents, such as linguistic and ethnic minorities, the elderly, and LGBTQIA+ minorities. The means include providing grants and allowing local organisations to use facilities. The expertise of the staff in participation and client-oriented interaction is developed.
How the plan was made
The plan utilises the versatile and expansive research base which contains views by the staff in various health and social services and organisations, as well as residents, of course. Ensuring the participation of all kinds of groups has been vital, which is why participants have included the Youth Council, Elderly Citizens Council and the Council on Disability, the organisational advisory board, as well as the Equality and Non-discrimination Commission.
‘Above all, the participation plan is a commitment to developing services in cooperation with residents, clients, staff and partners. Polyphony leads to better decisions and more effective services,’ Tukiala concludes.
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