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Mikko Rask is Adjunct Professor of Environmental Policy and Principal Investigator at the Centre for Consumer Society Research, and the Helsinki Institute for Sustainability Science, at the University of Helsinki. He graduated, in 2008, as Doctor of Philosophy at Helsinki University of Technology (currently part of Aalto University), in t Environmental Strategies and Technology Assessment. In 2014, he received the Title of Docent in Environmental Policy at the University of Helsinki. He has more than 20 years of experience as a researcher and leader of international research projects. Rask currently explores and develops practices of knowledge co-creation and democratic deliberation in the governance of research, innovation and environment. Recently he has developed a comprehensive model “The Co-creation Radar” for evaluating the quality and impacts of co-creation processes.
The theory of wicked problems, originating from Western academic discussion, has evolved since the 2000s toward a universal diagnostic of societal challenges. In this article, we employ a systematic literature review to investigate the application of the concept of wicked problems in studies focusing on the African context. Our aim is to understand the additional value and limitations of using the concept in a non-Western frame of reference. We conclude that the concept remains underutilized in studies concentrating on Africa; moreover, when it is used, it is mainly by academics of Western or Anglophone origin. Overall, the concept of wicked problems is mainly applied descriptively rather than theoretically. Based on the analysis of the themes and issues characterized as wicked, we elaborate toward a typology that takes account of the concrete “manifestations” (e.g., health issues such as AIDS/HIV and its treatment history) and “mechanisms” (e.g., historical path dependency) that condition the presence of wicked problems in the African context. The article contributes to the theory of wicked problems by developing a typology that distinguishes between interlinked and contextual problems (often characterized through the concept of “dual wickedness”), and proposes that problems can become exacerbated when the two dimensions are simultaneously present.
Ville-Pekka Niskanen; Mikko Rask; Harri Raisio. Wicked Problems in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review. SAGE Open 2021, 11, 1 .
AMA StyleVille-Pekka Niskanen, Mikko Rask, Harri Raisio. Wicked Problems in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review. SAGE Open. 2021; 11 (3):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVille-Pekka Niskanen; Mikko Rask; Harri Raisio. 2021. "Wicked Problems in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review." SAGE Open 11, no. 3: 1.
With the simultaneous rise of concern about the climate crisis and the growing internationalization of research institutions, academic mobility poses an “academic paradox”: knowledge of the environmental harm of aviation does not necessarily translate into action. Universities must make changes to their mobility habits if they wish to comply with governmental carbon neutrality targets and lead with example. This research looks at Finland’s 14 universities and identifies the patterns and trends of academic mobility from a series of reports provided by the universities and their travel agencies. Moreover, we mapped the travel destinations to understand the scope of Finnish academic travel. The data revealed that Finnish universities are in different states of sustainability: some acting as clear trendsetters and others lagging. The results show that although the universities are performing well in some areas, as in preferring European destinations over intercontinental ones, there are still areas of improvement related to stopover reduction, the number of 1- and 2-day trips, and alternative transport forms to aviation. There is also a need for the standardization of targets and emission calculators. These key development areas are posed as recommendations through which the universities could easily reduce the carbon footprint of their mobility.
Veronica Ahonen; Mika Siljander; Petri Pellikka; Tino Johansson; Mikko Rask. The Sustainability of Academic Air Mobility in Finnish Universities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2948 .
AMA StyleVeronica Ahonen, Mika Siljander, Petri Pellikka, Tino Johansson, Mikko Rask. The Sustainability of Academic Air Mobility in Finnish Universities. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2948.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeronica Ahonen; Mika Siljander; Petri Pellikka; Tino Johansson; Mikko Rask. 2021. "The Sustainability of Academic Air Mobility in Finnish Universities." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2948.
Online deliberation research has recently developed automated indicators to assess the deliberative quality of much user-generated online data. While most previous studies have developed indicators based on content analysis and network analysis, time-series data and associated methods have been studied less thoroughly. This article contributes to the literature by proposing indicators based on a combination of network analysis and time-series analysis, arguing that it will help monitor how online deliberation evolves. Based on Habermasian deliberative criteria, we develop six throughput indicators and demonstrate their applications in the OmaStadi participatory budgeting project in Helsinki, Finland. The study results show that these indicators consist of intuitive figures and visualizations that will facilitate collective intelligence on ongoing processes and ways to solve problems promptly.
BoKyong Shin; Mikko Rask. Assessment of Online Deliberative Quality: New Indicators Using Network Analysis and Time-Series Analysis. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1187 .
AMA StyleBoKyong Shin, Mikko Rask. Assessment of Online Deliberative Quality: New Indicators Using Network Analysis and Time-Series Analysis. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1187.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBoKyong Shin; Mikko Rask. 2021. "Assessment of Online Deliberative Quality: New Indicators Using Network Analysis and Time-Series Analysis." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1187.
The next generation of Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) policies will be defined by mission orientation and co-creation processes and implemented by dynamic public-private partnerships. However, the experience of European countries up to now in attempting to boost cooperation in innovation reveals a very different story. Beyond some contextual factors, the characteristics of the agents involved, the dynamics of their relationships and the design of the collaboration tools also have a critical influence at organisational level. This paper aims to identify these organisational factors in different contexts through the analysis of the Demola model, a university-industry innovation platform created in Finland which has spread to other countries, including Spain. Demola applies a standardised model but it has differences in its functioning depending on the national levels of collaboration in the innovation systems. In our case study, we have compared Finland and Spain, bearing in mind the features of the agents involved and their relationships, through a content analysis of primary and secondary information. The results of the study show that the institutional structure of the collaboration and the organisational culture of each institution are key factors in its functioning. These results can be useful for innovation managers, university leaders, educational experts and policy makers.
Daniel Catalá-Pérez; Mikko Rask; María De-Miguel-Molina. The Demola model as a public policy tool boosting collaboration in innovation: A comparative study between Finland and Spain. Technology in Society 2020, 63, 101358 -101358.
AMA StyleDaniel Catalá-Pérez, Mikko Rask, María De-Miguel-Molina. The Demola model as a public policy tool boosting collaboration in innovation: A comparative study between Finland and Spain. Technology in Society. 2020; 63 ():101358-101358.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Catalá-Pérez; Mikko Rask; María De-Miguel-Molina. 2020. "The Demola model as a public policy tool boosting collaboration in innovation: A comparative study between Finland and Spain." Technology in Society 63, no. : 101358-101358.
Co-creation principles have become prominent in the scientific disciplines that aim to respond to global sustainability challenges especially in the global south. This paper analyses a co-creation pilot of global change research in the novel context of a Nordic country, Finland. The pilot was organised to learn how to create a future agenda for a complex and transdisciplinary research field of global change. This paper analyses its conceptualisation in Finland, how did the series of engagement events increase the capacities of participants and how did the process contribute to a change towards a new, societally responsible way of co-creating global change research. The study found that co-creation suits well for the translation of important societal questions into global research agendas and for networking actors to co-creation activities. Based on the study, we argue that co-creation offers a socially acceptable approach to address socially critical topics to design transdisciplinary social and sustainability research.
Kaisa Matschoss; Maria Pietilä; Mikko Rask; Tanja Suni. Co-creating transdisciplinary global change research agendas in Finland. European Journal of Futures Research 2020, 8, 1 -12.
AMA StyleKaisa Matschoss, Maria Pietilä, Mikko Rask, Tanja Suni. Co-creating transdisciplinary global change research agendas in Finland. European Journal of Futures Research. 2020; 8 (1):1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKaisa Matschoss; Maria Pietilä; Mikko Rask; Tanja Suni. 2020. "Co-creating transdisciplinary global change research agendas in Finland." European Journal of Futures Research 8, no. 1: 1-12.
Strategic research indicates a problem-oriented, collaborative process of knowledge creation. Analysing a Finnish research project Smart Energy Transition and a related Delphi survey, we conceptualize strategic research as ‘futures work’ and as translations of technologies, time frames and narratives into a future vision. We ask 1) What is the role of the notion of disruption in strategic research and in the acts of translation? 2) What are the available means of articulating “disruption” in a Delphi survey? and 3) How do academics carrying out strategic research align themselves as part of actor networks? We find that the notion of disruption mediates the boundaries between science, business and policy. Moreover, plural time frames of short-term changes in actor networks and long-term speculative visions enable boundary work. Alignment between actors hinges on methodology, specific academic backgrounds and expertize, public energy discourses, national and industry interests, as well as neoliberal policy approaches that see futures as business opportunities.
Mikko Jalas; Mikko Rask; Tatu Marttila; Tero Ahonen. Futures Work as a Mode of Academic Engagement. Science & Technology Studies 2019, 32, 44 -61.
AMA StyleMikko Jalas, Mikko Rask, Tatu Marttila, Tero Ahonen. Futures Work as a Mode of Academic Engagement. Science & Technology Studies. 2019; 32 (3):44-61.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMikko Jalas; Mikko Rask; Tatu Marttila; Tero Ahonen. 2019. "Futures Work as a Mode of Academic Engagement." Science & Technology Studies 32, no. 3: 44-61.
Balancing between online-offline stages of participatory procedures is a delicate art that may support or hinder the success of participatory democracy. Participatory budgeting (PB), in particular, is generally rooted in online platforms, but as our case study on the City of Helsinki PB trial suggests, face-to-face events are necessary to engage targeted and often less resourceful actors in the process. Based on a longer-term participant observation, covering the PB process from its early to ideation phase to the current stage of proposal development for the final vote, we argue that the process has thus far been successful in blending online-offline components, largely supported by the active support of borough liaisons who have served as navigators between the different stages. From the point of view of co-creation, different stages of the PB process (ideation, co-creation) call for different strategies of online-offline participation. Effective mobilization of marginalized actors and interactions between public servants and citizens seem to benefit from face-to-face processes, while city-wide voting and discussion can effectively occur in the online platform.
Titiana-Petra Ertiö; Pekka Tuominen; Mikko Rask. Turning Ideas into Proposals: A Case for Blended Participation During the Participatory Budgeting Trial in Helsinki. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV 2019, 15 -25.
AMA StyleTitiana-Petra Ertiö, Pekka Tuominen, Mikko Rask. Turning Ideas into Proposals: A Case for Blended Participation During the Participatory Budgeting Trial in Helsinki. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV. 2019; ():15-25.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTitiana-Petra Ertiö; Pekka Tuominen; Mikko Rask. 2019. "Turning Ideas into Proposals: A Case for Blended Participation During the Participatory Budgeting Trial in Helsinki." Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV , no. : 15-25.
Sustainability transitions require new policy pathways that significantly reduce the environmental impacts caused by, for example, energy production, mobility and food production. Transition management (TM) is one of the approaches aiming at the creation of new ways to govern transitions. It uses transitions arenas (TA) as a key process and platform where new policy pathways are created in collaboration with multiple (frontrunner) stakeholders. TM’s ambitious and demanding agenda is not easy to implement. There is a continued need for testing and developing new ways of carrying out its key processes. We redesigned the TA process in the context of energy system change in Finland by 2030, focusing on interim goals, mid-range change pathways and developing a new notation system that allows participants to directly create the pathways. The resulting renewed TA process results in more specific and detailed mid-range pathways that provide more concreteness to how to implement long-term transition goals. It helps to bridge long-term national visions/strategies and low carbon experiments that are already running. The Finnish TA work created eight ambitious change pathways, pointing towards new and revised policy goals for Finland and identifying specific policy actions. Evaluation of the TA, 6–9 months after its completion underscores that an effective TA needs to be embedded by design in the particular political context that it seeks to influence. It is too early to say to what degree the pathways will be followed in practice but there are positive signs already.
Sampsa Hyysalo; Jani Lukkarinen; Paula Kivimaa; Raimo Lovio; Armi Temmes; Mikael Hildén; Tatu Marttila; Karoliina Auvinen; Sofi Perikangas; Allu Pyhälammi; Janne Peljo; Kaisa Savolainen; Louna Hakkarainen; Mikko Rask; Kaisa Matschoss; Timo Huomo; Annukka Berg; Mari Pantsar. Developing Policy Pathways: Redesigning Transition Arenas for Mid-range Planning. Sustainability 2019, 11, 603 .
AMA StyleSampsa Hyysalo, Jani Lukkarinen, Paula Kivimaa, Raimo Lovio, Armi Temmes, Mikael Hildén, Tatu Marttila, Karoliina Auvinen, Sofi Perikangas, Allu Pyhälammi, Janne Peljo, Kaisa Savolainen, Louna Hakkarainen, Mikko Rask, Kaisa Matschoss, Timo Huomo, Annukka Berg, Mari Pantsar. Developing Policy Pathways: Redesigning Transition Arenas for Mid-range Planning. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (3):603.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSampsa Hyysalo; Jani Lukkarinen; Paula Kivimaa; Raimo Lovio; Armi Temmes; Mikael Hildén; Tatu Marttila; Karoliina Auvinen; Sofi Perikangas; Allu Pyhälammi; Janne Peljo; Kaisa Savolainen; Louna Hakkarainen; Mikko Rask; Kaisa Matschoss; Timo Huomo; Annukka Berg; Mari Pantsar. 2019. "Developing Policy Pathways: Redesigning Transition Arenas for Mid-range Planning." Sustainability 11, no. 3: 603.
This chapter focuses on the democratic innovations of deliberative mini-publics by exploring the ways in which they can contribute to the democratisation of transnational and global governance. As international institutions like the European Union and global frameworks such as the Paris Climate Agreement are suffering a crisis of legitimacy, there is a need to further develop transnational democracy. This chapter provides the first systematic mapping of transnational mini-publics in the context of transnational and global governance. Data includes 19 mini-publics that are catalogued and analysed. Emerging trends include high participant learning, low direct policy, and moderate institutional and media impacts. The prospects, challenges and emerging research needs are discussed as well. ICTs, online methods and Artificial Intelligence will likely add new opportunities and lower the expenses of global deliberative mini-publics in the future.
Mikko Tapani Rask; Bjørn Bedsted; Edward Andersson; Liisa Helena Kallio. Democratic innovation in transnational and global governance. Handbook of Democratic Innovation and Governance 2019, 354 -369.
AMA StyleMikko Tapani Rask, Bjørn Bedsted, Edward Andersson, Liisa Helena Kallio. Democratic innovation in transnational and global governance. Handbook of Democratic Innovation and Governance. 2019; ():354-369.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMikko Tapani Rask; Bjørn Bedsted; Edward Andersson; Liisa Helena Kallio. 2019. "Democratic innovation in transnational and global governance." Handbook of Democratic Innovation and Governance , no. : 354-369.
Mikko Rask; Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė; Loreta Tauginienė; Vytautas Dikčius; Kaisa Matschoss; Timo Aarrevaara; Luciano D’Andrea. Public Participation, Science and Society. Public Participation, Science and Society 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleMikko Rask, Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė, Loreta Tauginienė, Vytautas Dikčius, Kaisa Matschoss, Timo Aarrevaara, Luciano D’Andrea. Public Participation, Science and Society. Public Participation, Science and Society. 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMikko Rask; Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvinienė; Loreta Tauginienė; Vytautas Dikčius; Kaisa Matschoss; Timo Aarrevaara; Luciano D’Andrea. 2018. "Public Participation, Science and Society." Public Participation, Science and Society , no. : 1.
The term public engagement (PE) refers to processes that provide a distinct role for citizens or stakeholder groups in policymaking. Such engagement is distinctive because it aims to create opportunities for mutual learning among policymakers, scientists, stakeholders, and members of the public. In so doing, PE involves a particular type of voice in public debate and policymaking that is different from more established discourses, such as those expressed through official policymaking channels, scientific institutions, civil society activists, or the public media. By the early 1970s, PE had emerged in the context of an overall democratization movement in Western societies through such innovations as the “citizen jury” in the United States and “planning cells” in Germany. Today, it is often more pragmatically motivated, such as in the European Commission, where PE is seen as a tool for responsible research and innovation that helps to anticipate and assess potential implications and societal expectations of research and innovation, as well as to design more inclusive and sustainable research policies. The first global PE processes in history were created to incorporate citizen voices into United Nations (UN) conventions on biodiversity and climate change. Building on theories of deliberative democracy and tested PE practices, a new World Wide Views process was developed to provide informed and considered input from ordinary citizens to the 2009 UN climate summit. This and subsequent World Wide Views (WWViews) deliberations have demonstrated that PE may potentially open up policy discourses that are constricted and obfuscated by organized interests. A telling example is provided by the World Wide Views on Climate and Energy deliberation held on June 5, 2015, where nearly 10,000 ordinary citizens gathered in 76 countries to consider and express their views on the issues to be addressed at the UN climate summit in Paris later that year. In a noteworthy departure from prevailing media and policy discourses, two-thirds of the participating citizens saw measures to fight climate change as “mostly an opportunity to improve our quality of life,” while only a quarter saw them as “mostly a threat to our quality of life,” a result that was consistent across high-, middle-, and low-income countries. Recent research on PE has indicated that when effectively implemented, such processes can increase the legitimacy, quality, and capacity of decision-making. Earlier aspirations for broader impacts, such as the democratization of policymaking at all levels, are now less prominent but arguably indispensable for achieving both immediate and longer-range goals. The relatively new concept of a deliberative system captures this complexity by moving beyond the narrow focus on single PE events encountered in much research to date, recognizing that single events rarely affect the course of policymaking. The evolving prospects for PE in biodiversity and climate change policy, therefore, can be seen as requiring ongoing improvements in the capacities of the deliberative system.
Mikko Rask; Richard Worthington. Communicating about Biodiversity, Public Engagement, and Climate Change. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science 2017, 1 .
AMA StyleMikko Rask, Richard Worthington. Communicating about Biodiversity, Public Engagement, and Climate Change. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. 2017; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMikko Rask; Richard Worthington. 2017. "Communicating about Biodiversity, Public Engagement, and Climate Change." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science , no. : 1.
Mikko Tapani Rask. The role of gender in global citizen deliberation. Governing Biodiversity through Democratic Deliberation 2015, 150 -171.
AMA StyleMikko Tapani Rask. The role of gender in global citizen deliberation. Governing Biodiversity through Democratic Deliberation. 2015; ():150-171.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMikko Tapani Rask. 2015. "The role of gender in global citizen deliberation." Governing Biodiversity through Democratic Deliberation , no. : 150-171.