Using experiments to find answers to challenges in a digitalised work environment in the health and social services sector

The objective of the invitation for pilots opening today is to improve the digital skills of people working in health and social services in order to allocate more time for the essential, namely encountering patients. The Prime Minister's Office’s key project known as ‘Experimental Finland’ together with Motiva Ltd are now looking for small-scale pilots that can be implemented with a sum of EUR 10,000 or less.

“In this invitation for pilots we wanted to focus especially on the invaluable work of the health and social services sector. New digital solutions should free up time for seeing clients - not take up more time. This invitation for pilots aims to find answers to this challenge”, says Project Manager Virve Hokkanen from the Prime Minister's Office. “It’s possible to get people to experiment and make changes even with a small sum of money, just as long as you create the right conditions for it”, says Lea Gynther, Senior Expert of Motiva Ltd.

“To identify genuine issues that need resolving, we held several background discussions with experts in health and social services as well as representatives of research institutions and municipalities before drawing up the invitation for pilots”, says Johanna Kotipelto, Senior Specialist at the Prime Minister’s Office. Based on the discussions, the following topics were selected: shared practices and procedures, customer encounters, employee skills in digital solutions and flexible learning.

The invitation for pilots is open to everybody. Companies, public sector operators, associations and private citizens are all invited to submit their proposals for pilots. The overall sum allocated for the pilots is EUR 200,000 maximum.

The application period closes on 15 October 2018 and the selected pilots will be announced on 31 October 2018. Besides the financial support, successful candidates will be offered coaching in how to formulate and execute the pilot. The aim is to complete the pilots by the end of February 2019.

Access the invitation here: https://www.kokeilunpaikka.fi/en/digisotetaidot/

Inquiries: Virve Hokkanen, Project Manager, Prime Minister's Office, tel. +358 295 160 490, [email protected]; Johanna Kotipelto, Senior Specialist, Prime Minister's Office, tel. +358 295 160 206, [email protected], and Lea Gynther, Senior Expert, Motiva Ltd, tel. +358 9 612 250 44, [email protected]