The democracy researchers of the University of Turku will be organising Finland’s largest-ever citizens’ assembly this coming winter to produce recommendations. The assembly is part of an initiative launched by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, which maps the views of the Finnish population on work-based immigration on an exceptionally broad scale for the use of decision-makers.
The research group for innovating democracy at the University of Turku is organising a citizens’ assembly this autumn and winter. The assembly will produce recommendations on work-based immigration for decision-makers.
The citizens’ assembly is part of The Future of Work-Based Immigration project launched by Sitra and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. Ahead of the citizens’ assembly, a series of citizen dialogues will also be held, as well as a discussion open to all on the digital Voxit participation platform.
“This is the first time in Finland that several methods of citizen participation have been combined on such a broad scale to address a socially significant issue. The citizens’ assembly is the largest citizens’ assembly ever organised in Finland to produce recommendations,” says Senior Researcher Maija Jäske from the University of Turku.
Recommendations from the citizens’ assembly to support decision-making ahead of parliamentary elections
Altogether 20,000 invitations have been mailed to randomly selected adults in Finland this week. Those who have received an invitation are asked to register for the citizens’ assembly and the associated survey.
From among those who have registered, the researchers will select 100 participants for the citizens’ assembly using a quota system so that the composition provides a diverse representation of the population living in Finland, for example in terms of age, gender, first language, and place of residence.
The citizens’ assembly will meet between November 2026 and February 2027 over two weekends in Helsinki and on four weekday evenings online. Through joint discussion, the participants of the assembly will prepare a statement containing specific policy recommendations.
“The principles of deliberative democracy observed in the discussion include openness, equal participation, and respect for diverse viewpoints. Numerous studies have shown that even controversial topics can be addressed constructively in a deliberative discussion,” notes Jäske.
The work of the citizens’ assembly is supported by expert consultations and a comprehensive evidence base that brings together information from the public, experts, and research produced during the earlier stages of the project.
The policy recommendations produced by the citizens’ assembly will be delivered to decision-makers, political parties, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment ahead of the Finnish parliamentary elections in spring 2027.
Researchers will assess the impact of participation
The project aims to strengthen decision-making capacity and trust, and to increase citizens’ opportunities to influence decision-making.
In addition to the citizens’ assembly, researchers from the University of Turku will assess the impacts of the project and analyse the process of combining methods of citizen participation.
“We will assess the impacts of the process combining various participation methods on decision-making, and will also examine how citizens, public officials, policymakers, and experts view this type of citizen participation and the statements produced by citizens,” says Jäske.
The project was launched in summer 2026 and will be completed in September 2027 when the results of the impact assessment will also be published.
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You can find more information about the citizens’ assembly on the research group’s website and about the project on Sitra’s website.
In August, Sitra has opened an online discussion open to all on work-based immigration. You can participate in the discussion on the Voxit platform until 20 September 2026.
For more information, please contact:
Senior Researcher Maija Jäske, University of Turku, tel. +358 29 450 2184, mhkarj@utu.fi
