MDI will be responsible for leading and coordinating the interaction activities in a project funded by the Strategic Research Council

MDI participates, as an interaction leader, in the Economic and social sustainability across time and space in an ageing society (SustAgeable) project which is funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC) of the Academy of Finland. The project is part of the Demographic Changes – Causes, Consequences and Solutions, DEMOGRAPHY (2021–2027) programme which will be launched this year and “seeks research-based solutions for adapting to changes in the population’s age structure and maintaining the functional and renewal capacity of society”.

The research consortium includes the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Labour Institute for Economic Research, the VATT Institute for Economic Research, the University of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the University of Lapland. The project is led by research manager Maria Vaalavuo from THL. MDI Specialist, Marjo Honkaranta, is the interaction leader.

SustAgeable is looking for solutions to help promote well-being and secure the financial base of the welfare state into the future

Population ageing poses significant challenges to the economic sustainability of the welfare state and with it to the benefits and services it currently provides, the loss of which could jeopardize the social sustainability of our society and increase inequality.

The SustAgeable research consortium focuses on

1) the distribution of well-being between regions, generations and groups of people,

2) curbing the growth of social and health care expenditure,

3) opportunities to prolong careers and develop the integration of immigrants,

4) the distribution of care responsibilities; and

5) regional differences in population ageing trends due to internal and international migration.

The project will provide information on how successfully various policy measures reduce the consequences of an ageing population on public revenue and expenditure, inequality and well-being.

– The aim is to produce research data that can really contribute to the development of a sustainable welfare state. In addition to scientific achievements, the social impact of the research results will play an important role in the project. This is an ambitious, but at the same time, hugely inspiring project and I am really grateful for the funding we have received, says Maria Vaalavuo, Director of the Consortium at THL.

Interaction supports social impact

The aim of the SustAgeable project’s interaction approach is to promote economic and social sustainability bringing them into the heart of policy processes; to involve key stakeholders in co-development and dialogue; to validate the project’s research results with stakeholders and to disseminate the project’s recommendations to as broad an audience as possible.

– It is great to be able to implement a large and socially significant project together with our consortium partners. We want to support the realisation of the project’s goals and impact through active communication and interaction, says Marjo Honkaranta.

The project will start in October 2021 with the first Funding Period ending in autumn 2024.

Additional information

Maria Vaalavuo
maria.vaalavuo@thl.fi
p. 029 524 6754

Marjo Honkaranta
marjo.honkaranta@mdi.fi
p. 050 329 4015

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