€356,000 in Partner Funding for Elina Kilpi-Jakonen as SISU Receives Continued STN Funding

The SISU research consortium has received continued funding from the Strategic Research Council (SRC) of the Research Council of Finland. The work package led by Professor Elina Kilpi-Jakonen has been awarded €356,000 in funding.

Launched in autumn 2023, SISU (Towards a Resilient, Green and Just Finland through Sufficiency Solutions) examines how the sustainability transformation and the fundamental promises of the welfare state can be achieved under conditions of limited resources and without relying on continuous economic growth. The newly awarded funding will enable the consortium’s work to continue until the end of 2029. The coordinating organisation, the University of Eastern Finland, together with its partner organisations, received a total of €2.46 million in funding.

Within the consortium, Kilpi-Jakonen leads the work package Future Orientation among Vulnerable Groups. The work package investigates how the green transition affects vulnerable groups in society, with a particular focus on their future orientation, sense of agency and capacity to influence their own lives. The research draws on administrative register data, survey data, interviews and citizen dialogues.

The objective is to identify which existing and emerging forms of vulnerability may become particularly significant in a sustainability transformation based on sufficiency solutions, and to examine the factors that may weaken vulnerable people’s sense of agency during societal change. The work package also seeks ways to strengthen the agency, resilience and future outlook of people in vulnerable positions.

Groups considered vulnerable include individuals experiencing long-term economic insecurity, people facing health challenges—particularly mental health problems—and those with immigrant backgrounds. Special attention is paid to intergenerational disadvantage and, more broadly, to the intergenerational consequences of the green transition.

Based on its findings of all work packages, the consortium develops practical approaches together with its partners to strengthen citizens’ agency, resilience and confidence in the future, thereby supporting a more resilient Finland.