Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

The Challenge: Finland At The ForefrontWhile the coming retirement of the Baby Boomers is a global occurrenceaffecting countries worldwide, the event is of particular significancein Finland, a country where a large segment of the population is projectedto age rapidly over the next twenty years. Finland’s integrated, comprehensivewelfare system will be the first to experience meaningful pressurefrom the worldwide increase of the elderly population. Here in Finland,the magnitude of the pressure will strain the welfare system more seriouslythan elsewhere.Awareness of this mounting pressure is spreading throughout Finnishsociety. Currently, the problem is discussed in essential economic terms:Retiring Baby Boomers will create a sustainability gap in the nationalbudget if the dynamics of the situation are not changed. Proposed solutionsare often accordingly framed in economic terms.The most serious strategies for addressing the situation generallyinvolve one or more of the following three propositions: tax increases,reduction of the scope or quality of services, and an increase in systemicefficiency.Such proposals have yet to produce realistic responses to the situationbecause they are either economically unfeasible (i.e. Increasing the welfareburden of the working population) or socially unacceptable (i.e. Challengingthe provision for universal welfare coverage). Other proposals, such asincreasing the immigration rate or encouraging rapid economic growth,remain implausible quick fixes for the challenge at hand.As a result, Finland continues to lack a meaningful strategy of significantmomentum to address the issue raised by the presence of a rapidly ageingpopulation. The challenge facing Finland, and this studio, is to developa feasible strategy that dramatically re-frames the dimensions of the problemso as to reveal previously unseen opportunities. Such a strategy has thepotential to mobilize society and provide the tremendous force necessaryfor positive change.Harnessing The MomentumUnderlying the economic principles that describe the state of the Finnishwelfare system is the social contract between generations. This contract,which lies at the root of both the challenge and the solution, dictates theterms of the very relationship that will be strained by the retirement of theBaby Boom generation.This social contract should be the first point of consideration for thedevelopment of any strategy designed to address the support of Finland’srapidly ageing population. Potential strategies will have to account for both279