New national operating model to clarify innovation cooperation between wellbeing services counties and businesses
A new operating model and set of indicators have been prepared to promote innovation cooperation between wellbeing services counties and businesses. The aim is to provide a consistent way for the counties, and also nationally, to engage in effective cooperation with businesses.
In addition, the model seeks to boost growth in the health and wellbeing sector and increase research, development and innovation activities and investments in Finland.
“Having a joint operating model will help wellbeing services counties and businesses develop and adopt new solutions more easily. The model will also strengthen Finland’s position as an attractive environment for health and wellbeing innovations,” says Päivi Sillanaukee, Programme Director for the RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing.
Clear practices for cooperation
The operating model describes, among others, the structures, processes and competencies needed for cooperation. The model will support dialogue between wellbeing services counties and businesses, improve understanding of the market, and help identify needs, develop new solutions and test them in practice. It will not replace the counties’ own operating models and practices but support their further development.
The model consists of the following six phases:
- identifying the need
- exploring and developing new solutions together
- agreeing on how to proceed and cooperate
- developing and testing the solution in an authentic environment
- assessing the impacts and lessons learned
- deciding on adoption or expansion.
Following a successful trial, the new service, technology or practice can be adopted more widely.
The aim is to ensure that effective solutions developed through cooperation can also be adopted in other counties more quickly than at present. At the same time, businesses will get a clearer picture of the opportunities that cooperation with counties offers.
Indicators for assessing cooperation
Alongside the operating model, a set of indicators has been developed to enable wellbeing services counties to monitor the quality and impacts of cooperation with businesses in a comparable manner.
The indicators will be used to monitor three issues in particular: whether it is clear who is responsible for innovation cooperation, how many collaborative projects move from trial to implementation and how smooth counties and businesses find their cooperation.
The counties, the collaborative areas for healthcare and social welfare, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing will be jointly responsible for the adoption of the model. The collaborative areas will collate the common needs of the areas and counties and share best practices. The Ministry and the Growth Programme will coordinate this work and develop common indicators for monitoring cooperation.
RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing forms the basis for this work
The RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing has coordinated the development of innovation cooperation between counties and businesses since 2024. The preparation of the operating model and indicators started in 2025.
This work has been carried out in cooperation with counties, research institutes, businesses and the healthcare innovation consultancy Vertical.
Finland wants to strengthen its position as an attractive environment for health innovations
More straightforward cooperation will help make new services and technologies more rapidly available in healthcare and social welfare. At the same time, Finland aims to attract more health sector investment and development.
“In order to boost growth, it is important that wellbeing services counties, businesses and investors see Finland as an attractive development and business environment for the health sector. The new operating model will clarify cooperation, speed up the adoption of new solutions and make counties increasingly attractive,” says Senior Specialist Tomi Laitinen from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
- Read more about the operating model here (in Finnish)
Event on innovation cooperation on 3 June 2026
The RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing will organise an event in Helsinki on 3 June 2026 at 13.30–16.30 to discuss innovation cooperation between wellbeing services counties and businesses. The event will take place in Aleksanterinsali at Epicenter.
Participants will get a chance to discuss the opportunities that cooperation affords and to network with one another.
Inquiries
Senior Specialist Tomi Laitinen, tel. +358 295 163 561, [email protected]