The power of data: how Helsinki is improving citizens lives

The World Economic Forum and the Government of Finland developed a human-centric data management approach for Helsinki that separates data storage, anonymization, and processing from individual tasks. This blueprint includes a GDPR-compliant hybrid cloud architecture and an anonymizer tool, which have already been used to proactively assign pre-primary education places to over 5,500 families. The city intends to open-source these tools and processes for other cities to adopt.

• The City of Helsinki implemented a data management blueprint designed to separate the storage, anonymization, and processing of data from tasks performed by individuals, aiming to provide personalized services and reduce bureaucracy.
• The data-driven approach was applied to preschool care in January 2021, where over 5,500 families were sent text messages suggesting pre-primary education placements, resulting in a 90% acceptance rate.
• The initiative produced four primary outcomes detailed in the report 'Empowered Data Societies: A Human-Centric Approach to Data Relationships': a process for utilizing personal data, a GDPR-compliant hybrid cloud architecture for sensitive data privacy, a collection of anonymization tools called the Helsinki anonymizer, and a modular project management tool called the Helsinki data-based service staircase.
• The developed processes and tools are intended to be open-sourced by Helsinki to allow other cities to use and improve them.

APA

Forum, M. A. K. B. W. E. (2022). The power of data: how Helsinki is improving citizens lives. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/impact/power-of-data-helsinki/

Chicago

Forum, Marco Aguilar, Kimmy Bettinger, World Economic. The power of data: how Helsinki is improving citizens lives. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/impact/power-of-data-helsinki/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Forum |first1=Marco Aguilar, Kimmy Bettinger, World Economic |title=The power of data: how Helsinki is improving citizens lives |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=6 May 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/impact/power-of-data-helsinki/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forum2022power, author = {Forum, Marco Aguilar, Kimmy Bettinger, World Economic}, title = {{The power of data: how Helsinki is improving citizens lives}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/impact/power-of-data-helsinki/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }