Life-long learning

1. Towards Lifelong learning – Shared aim and
challenges
NVL Meeting Copenhagen
27.2.2020
Tapio Huttula
Senior advisor, Sitra – Lifelong learning project

2. Structure
1. What is Sitra, Future house of Finland?
2. What have we done with 30 stakeholders?
3. The process - how we did it?
4. NVL Digital working group
Sitras role in Lifelong learning project

3. + the most
important of all
Building our future together.
Five important things
1. A gift from Parliament to the 50-
year-old Finland (founded 1967).
Still under the direct control of the
Finnish Parliament.
2. An independent future house: a
futurologist, visionary, developer,
experimentalist, financier, partner,
trainer and networker.
3. The aim is the successful Finland of
tomorrow, the vision is the next era
of well-being – a fair and
sustainable future.
4. Funded by returns on endowment
capital and capital investments.
5. The vision is implemented by three
themes and hundreds of projects.

4. FORESIGHT
SOCIETAL TRAINING
A CARBON-NEUTRAL
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
CAPACITY FOR
RENEWAL
NEW WORKING LIFE
AND A SUSTAINABLE
ECONOMY
S I T R A’ S F U T U R E - O R I E N T E D
WO R K I N 2 0 1 9
Circular
economyWCEF
Leadership
training for
sustainable
economic
policy
Climate
solutions
Sitra
Lab
Sustainable
everyday
life
Knowledge
in decision-
making
Time-
Out –
dialogue
method
Fair data
economy
Lifelong
learning
A roundtable
for working
life
organisations
Impact
investing
Human-
driven
Health
Reforming
democracy
Foresight
Megatrends and
weak signals

5. Sitras role
Sitra’s role: Building bridges through facilitation,
providing an arena and zooming out to look at the
full picture – especially regarding funding.
The goal
Long-term, joint
development of lifelong
learning in Finland, by
supporting societal
actors in instigating
systemic change.
Think
ConnectDo
Lifelong
learning
in lifelong
learning

6. What have we done with 30
stakeholders?
Parliamentary group or?
In joint process all key players in this field: 4 ministries, trade unions and other labor
market organizations, educational organization, student unions, Finnish national agency
for education, pension funds…..

7. Work and income
(TEM)
Competence
development and
education
(OKM + Others)
Social justice and welfare
(STM)
WHY IS SITRA INVOLVED IN LIFELONG LEARNING?
Lifelong learning as an impactful investment
Government
sectors
...which - when effective -
reduces the need for
expensive restorative measures
Lifelong learning can be seen
as an impactful preventive
investment...
The speed of change
challenges the existing
system
The role of competence
as a foundation for
sustainable economic
growth and well-being
becomes emphasized
Diversity increases in
society
Change drivers
Internal safety and
criminal sanctions
(SM, OM)
Sitra´s strategy: All the megatrends
leads to lifelong learning!

8. What content have we facilitated?
Why How

10. The process – how we did it?

11. STAKEHOLDER
INTERVIEWS
ABOUT SITRA’S
ROLE
FOCUS AREA
IN SITRA’S
STRATEGY
THE SHARED
AIM OF 30
SOCIETAL
ACTORS
INFLUENCING
GOVERNMENT
PROGRAM
CONTENT IN
THE
GOVERNMENT
PROGRAM
PARLIAMENTARY
GROUP FOR
CONTINUOUS
LEARNING
Decision to
prepare
Decision
to start
Publication of the
I phase results
Hearing during
goverment negotiations
Invitation to facilitate
the parliamentary group
HOW HAS THE PROCESS PROCEEDED SO FAR 1/2018-11/2019?
Sitra’s role: Building bridges through facilitation, providing an arena and
zooming out to look at the full picture – especially regarding funding.
Reports on funding, legislation, population, opinion polls…
Process Work together as a network …
Idea of a
parlia-
mentary
group

12. Organization of the process in the 1st phase
- Information
collection
- Different
preparation groups
needed in different
phases of the
process
- Theme groups for
key questions
Preparation
groups
- Coordinates the
preparation
- Comments
analyses and
devises a
presentation of the
shared aim and
funding principles
for the monitoring
group
Working
group
- The steering group
appoints the
working group
- Monitors the
process
- Signed the
presentation on the
shared aim and
funding principles
for the political
process
Steering
group
- Forms the shared
aim
- Accepts the final
form of the shared
aim and funding
principles
Political
process
Forums for the field
- Challenges, needs
Forums for the field
- Testing the theses of the shared aim

13. We did our homework!
1) Round of phone calls
2) Summary of existing
high-level projects
3) Wall of stakeholders’
visions & objectives

14. Keeping everyone on board
An aim shared by
30 societal actors
Working group – discussions, dialogs and workshops, documentation
• Several meetings, scheduled to ensure majority participation
• Progress during & between meetings always made transparent
• Phone calls inbetween meetings, keeping everyone in the loop Steering
group
N e w v e r s i o n s

15. Facilitation principles
1. Loyalty
We commit to the outcomes you create in our events. We will act transparently: we will
show clearly and concretely how the work has evolved from one round to the next, all
the way to the finished outcome.
2. Focus on the collective
We will learn and ideate together. Our collective events are spaces for discovery and
insight. We won’t bring you polished proposals for how to develop the politics for
lifelong learning – we will rather provide you “clay to work with”.
3. Persistence, grit – “sisu”
We will work hard towards our common goal and commit to ensuring a gratifying
result for our shared work.

16. NVL digital working group

17. NVL digital working group
2019-2020
- Work task completed in February 2020
- End result a discussion paper
- Discussions on National/Nordic/Global context/levels
- The members of the working group:
- Mie Buhl, Professor, PhD, Aalborg University, Department of Communication
and Psychology, Denmark
- Tapio Huttula, Senior advisor, PhD, The Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, Finland
- Torunn Gjelsvik, Secretary General, International Council for Open and
Distance Education - ICDE, Norway
- Ebba Ossiannilsson, Professor, Dr., Swedish Association for Distance
Education, ICDE EC; ICDE OER Advocacy Committee, Sweden
- Johanni Larjanko, NVL-coordinator, Finland

18. Key results
1. Aim: Learning for everyone in a digital society
2. Recommendation: A thematic NVL-network on digitalization is needed
3. Suggested process: National consultation process 2019 to identify shared concerns
4. Coordination: Identifying national network members. First task to coordinate and
collect results from national consultation processes.

19. More information of the shared aim, funding
principles and challenges

21. Change drivers
The speed of change challenges existing system
There will be an emphasis on change as
foundation for sustainable economic growth and
well-being
Diversity will increase in society

22. THESIS 1
Eveyone learns througout their life
A society that believes in the future and
trusts people enables creativity, personal
development and learning for everyone
throughout their lives. Active participation
and a willingness to improve oneself create
the preconditions for the individual’s and
society’s well-being.
The following points outline the goals
and desires that we are striving for.
A The continuous building of competence is genuinely possible
for everyone.
B Responses to learning needs must be diverse,
flexible and agile.
C Everyone should be supported to take responsibility for
learning and developing a passion for personal competence
building.
D Guidance is needed in all life situations, especially during
transitional phases. Services must be integrated and
comprehensive.
E Individuals and communities can make their competence
visible and utilise it.
#osaamisenaika

23. THESIS 2
General knowledge, basic skills
and competence are the
foundations of well-being
The following points outline the goals and
desires that we are striving for.
A Children’s and young people’s resources and confidence, and their
motivation to learn and enjoy learning, are supported comprehensively
by the education system and other growth environments.
B Everyone will acquire the basic skills and competence corresponding
to basic education and upper-secondary qualifications.
C Everyone can maintain and improve their basic skills throughout
their life. The availability of education must be ensured, and individuals
must be provided with suitable support and learning environments.
D Qualifications will continue to be important. Qualification structures,
content and pedagogy are developed by anticipating educational
needs and by responding to changes
in society and working life.
E There needs to be a recognition of the central role that art,culture,
physical activity and sport play in building general knowledge and
encouraging participation.
#osaamisenaika
Experiences of participation and
succeeding maintain stability in
society. General knowledge and
continuously maintained basic skills
ensure the opportunity to find one’s
place in
society and live a meaningful life
amid a raft of changes.

24. #osaamisenaika

25. MOTIVATION AND ABILITY TO LEARN
COMMINITYS’SUPPORT
TOLEARNING
Competence
improves working
life and working llfe
improves
competence

26. Finland success is based on
competence
The following points outline the goals
and desires that we are striving for.
A Finland increases the competence level of the whole population
– individuals and organizations.
B Finland implements a broad, long-term, lifelong learning policy
that combines different policy sectors.
C Finland must ensure there is sufficient competence
and a sufficient number of competent people.
D People’s well-being and opportunities to participate in
working life are taken care of. This is how the foundation for
a sustainable economy is safeguarded.
E The shared national intellectual capital is visible.
#osaamisenaika
A high level of competence enables
increased work
productivity and can lead to a high
employment rate.
This way, the funding of the welfare
society and Finland’s
competitiveness can be ensured. The
high level of
competence makes Finland
internationally attractive and
secures a sufficient number of
competent people in Finland
THESIS 4

27. 1. Who bears the responsibility for ensuring that
people’s competence does not become outdated
during their careers?
2. Should everyone have the opportunity and
obligation to develop their competence
regardless of the type of benefit?
3. Is the shared money allocated in the right way
regarding the competence building of adults?
4. Can we afford to exclude some people from
working life or competence building?
5. If more money is needed for lifelong learning,
where do we source it from?
6. What share of the public funds allocated to the
competence building of the working-age
population should be provided directly to
individuals?
7. Should we discuss charging fees for education?
8. How can we manage lifelong learning as a cross-
cutting phenomenon?

31. Organising the parliamentary reform, 2nd phase
Parliamentary
reform group
- Forms the shared aim
between political parties
- Alignments for long-
term development
- Representatives from
political parties
- Chief secretaries as
permanent specialists
Preparations in the
ministries
(secretariat)
- Prepares the work of
the parliamentary
reform and monitoring
groups
- Coordinates the work
of different groups
- Contact to other
groups (Ministry of
employment and the
economy)
Wide-ranging
monitoring group
- Takes part in the
preparation
- Dialogue with
stakeholders
- Representatives
from stakeholders
Support group
consisting of
trade unions
- Supports the
parliamentary group
- Representatives
from trade unions
Sitra’s facilitation
- Facilitating the parliamentary reform group’s work
- Preparing the facilitation process
- Supports the preparation in the ministries
- Integrating information collected by Sitra into the process
- Specialists from Sitra

32. sitra.fi/en
@sitrafund