Conclusions

Vantaa is working extensively towards the SDGs and is actively and flexibly looking for new initiatives. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in cross-administrative coordination, knowledge management and the long-term integration of the SDGs into the city’s processes.

Henkilöt tauolla pyöräretkellä kesällä

Vantaa is working hard towards its sustainable development goals. Services and forms of cooperation and inclusion are being actively developed. Development work is being carried out in the city organisation in many different ways, for example through a large number of ongoing projects. As a growing city, Vantaa has a flexible organisation that is willing to boldly try out new solutions. During the pandemic, the city was able to react quickly to changing needs and circumstances. On the other hand, scarce resources throughout the city organisation limit development opportunities and pose challenges in many places.

The integration of the SDGs into the strategy and the regular voluntary local reviews show Vantaa’s commitment to sustainability work and its systematic promotion. However, there is still much room for improvement in the coordination and management of sustainability work, as it is done with limited resources, in a fragmented manner and without permanent structures. Furthermore, the SDGs and people’s awareness of them are not being transformed into practical development work, and the work is not being structured through the SDGs even though it actually contributes to them.

Vantaa’s sustainability work and its coordination are being further developed. Long-term work on sustainability and the promotion of the SDGs in cross-administrative cooperation requires resources, management structures and commitment from all departments. The understanding of the SDGs and the entirety of sustainability work and its significance must be increased within the city organisation. So far, the resources and management of intersectoral sustainability work have not been at a level that would enable the development of systematic sustainability work. The main task of the temporary sustainability expert has been to compile the voluntary local review, and the temporary nature of the position may have caused the experience and lessons learned from the review process and its results to go to waste. The situation will be significantly improved in 2023 with the establishment of the position of a new permanent sustainability expert.

The City of Vantaa needs to develop its knowledge-based management both at the city and department level. Functioning and effective knowledge-based management requires increasing a shared understanding, coordination and integrative management, as well as resources. Knowledge-based management structures are constantly being developed. In this development work, it is important to consider how the SDGs and the related indicators could be better linked to the processes of knowledge-based management.

The SDGs have not been systematically translated from the strategy level to the programmes implementing the strategy. The programmes are different from each other and do not fully communicate with each other. Closer coordination in the compilation of different programmes would help identify overlaps and blind spots and find points where the mutual linking of programmes and objectives could open up new opportunities for cooperation and new ways of approaching major issues and phenomena.

With regard to the programmes implementing the strategy and their objectives, Vantaa should prepare systematic assessments of their impact on the SDGs. This would also enable the detection of negative and contradictory effects. For example, objectives related to the growth of the city and attracting new companies may conflict with environmental objectives. A comprehensive assessment of these impacts would provide a better overall picture of how the city as a whole contributes to the SDGs and where a change of direction is possible and necessary to achieve all the goals. Better coordination of sustainability work can help with this aim and provide tools for integrating the SDGs into all of the city’s operations.

The strategy defines cross-cutting SDGs that should be reflected in all the strategic themes and in all programmes implementing the strategy. There are major shortcomings in the integration of these SDGs into the programmes. For example, gender equality cannot be promoted without identifying the points where unequal structures exist, and planning measures to actively promote gender equality. Equality and non-discrimination are often thought to be realised through the fact that, for example, in services everyone is treated the same without regard to gender or other factors. In this case, however, no analysis has been made as to why not everyone may have actual access to and benefit from services. One important area for equality is working life, and Vantaa should consider more extensively how equality and non-discrimination issues can be taken into account in the work for vitality and how these goals can be promoted.

As regards gender, gender diversity must also be taken into consideration. In general, the programmes and other documents implementing Vantaa’s strategy have a binary view of gender, which ignores diversity and thus conceals and even reinforces unequal structures. The City of Vantaa still has a lot of work to do in integrating the gender perspective and promoting equality. It is important to pay attention to manner of speech and choice of words to ensure we do not exclude diversity from the discussion. For example, the position of gender and sexual minorities must be made visible so that it can be actively improved.

In addition to and in connection with gender, it is important to constantly keep in mind other factors affecting equality, such as age, language, cultural background, socio-economic status, health and family situation. These factors are linked together in complex ways, and women or men, for example, cannot be thought of as a cohesive group. When Vantaa is developing the promotion of equality and the consideration of the gender perspective in all activities, it is important to include an intersectional approach that takes other differences into account.

Project-based development, which is strongly reflected in the measures in this review, may not be the best way to promote the SDGs. It allows flexibility and resources for a certain kind of development, but projects are short in duration and the development work carried out, the lessons learned and the results do not always remain in long-term use. The work carried out in projects is often scattered and not linked to other work carried out by the city in a way that would promote the SDGs in the long term. In Vantaa, projects often recruit temporary project workers who leave at the end of the project, taking with them a great deal of knowledge and lessons learned, which is lost to the city organisation. The impact of projects would be increased, for example, by better resourcing of the project office and permanent employment relationships, within which the project employees could flexibly move to another project after one ends, keeping their know-how and silent knowledge in the organisation.

This review highlights the efforts of the City of Vantaa to promote the SDGs. In the future, it will be important to increasingly approach sustainable development as a common issue of the entire city region, which is also promoted by companies, educational establishments, communities, NGOs, other parties, as well as local residents. Increasing cooperation and promoting awareness of the SDGs in the entire city region can bring about new solutions and a new kind of commitment to these common goals, and the city organisation serves as an important unifying force, example and knowledge sharer.

More information

Lotta Alajoki

Sustainability Specialist
lotta.alajoki@vantaa.fi

Keywords

Responsibility