The Espoo Story, a city strategy created together with the community

This article series presents cases of innovations built here in Espoo that strive for a better tomorrow for all.

We are in constant change. In Espoo, the population is estimated to grow by one third by 2045. It is also becoming more diversified in terms of backgrounds, opportunities and habits. That’s why we believe in collaboration and building trust, it’s the grassroots that matter the most.

The Espoo Story is the city’s strategy, a shared story created together with city employees, citizens, communities, and companies. It’s a tool through which the City of Espoo has been taking strategic thinking and operations forward since 2012, illustrating our commitment to developing the city together as a community.

The current strategy for 2021–2025 was created in 2019–2021 and the story is updated each council term. The citizens were involved through a two-part survey mapping their wishes regarding Espoo. We took extra measures to include also the elderly, the younger generations and minorities and marginalized groups, such as disabled, and sexual and cultural minorities, through either the survey or additional workshops and dialogues. Over 700 managers working for City of Espoo participated in an event on how to implement the strategy. The final strategy is decided by the City Council.

A co-created narrative is a unique way to lead the city strategy and political action. It has proven to be impactful: as an example, surveys show that 95% of managers working at the city organization say that the Espoo Story  is visible in their daily work. The Espoo Story is also being taught at Oxford University as an example of a participatory strategy process by Eero Vaara, Professor of Organisations and Impact.