Government trims its strategy jungle – guidelines in 60 strategies to be abolished as of 1 January 2016

In its plenary session on 30 December, the Government decided to reduce the current number of various strategies.

The total number of government strategies, programmes and other strategy-level documents adopted by the previous Governments amounts to 127. Both public servants and ministers have devoted time for the drafting of each strategy. The several hundreds of objectives included in the strategies have blurred the overall picture.

According to the Government, 67 strategies consist of guidelines that are still relevant. Some of these strategies will be replaced later by a new document. A total of 60 strategies consist of guidelines that will be abolished as of 1 January 2016.

Government strategies are either government resolutions or government reports. As regards government reports, the decision naturally relates to guidelines issued by the Government only, and not to Parliament's positions included in them. In addition to government strategies, there are some 200 ministerial strategies which will not be affected by the decision made by the Government today.

In the strategic Government Programme and the related Action Plan of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's Government, the Government has set clear priority areas where to achieve change during its term in office. By reducing the number of different strategies, the Government wishes to target ministries' resources at the implementation of the Government Programme. Government’s objective is that the number of government strategies would vary between 20 and 30 at any given time. This means that the relation between various strategies and the Government Programme and its Action Plan will be enhanced in future, too.

Reducing the number of government strategies (pdf, in Finnish)

Inquiries: Sirpa Kekkonen, Counsellor, tel. +358 295 160 181 and Jouni Varanka, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 160 177, Prime Minister’s Office