New procurement system seeks partners for research, development and innovation in welfare services, spanning service redesign, project delivery, strategy and science links.
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In October 2025, Keski-Uudenmaan hyvinvointialue (the Central Uusimaa welfare area) launched a procurement system to bring in partners for research, development and innovation across its core services. The plan centres on category-led sourcing and closer ties to the scientific community, aiming to modernise commissioning and strengthen evidence-based decisions with ESG in mind.
The welfare area’s TKIO Expert Services for Welfare Area notice sets out a broad brief. It seeks partners across several linked categories that together shape how care and support are planned, delivered and developed. Rather than buying a single solution, the approach invites a pool of expertise that can be called on as needs change.
Bringing these strands under one procurement system signals a shift from ad hoc assignments to a managed category approach. It also opens the door to research partners and pilot activity that can be scaled into routine service delivery.
The notice frames innovation as a capability embedded in day‑to‑day operations, not a separate programme. By organising around categories, the buyer can align strategic development with project delivery and service design. In practical terms, this makes it easier to commission targeted expertise, share learning across projects, and avoid duplication.
The explicit link to scientific communities matters. It points to stronger research partnerships and the use of data and evidence in service planning. Framed this way, ESG considerations can move from policy statements into measurable work packages: for example, redesigning services to reduce inequalities, improve outcomes and make better use of resources.
Detail on budgets, contract length or call‑off mechanics is not set out in the text available. But the structure suggests a flexible route to market that can accommodate specialist assignments as well as longer development efforts.
The move aligns with wider public‑sector practice in Finland, where buyers are using multi‑supplier arrangements to blend strategy, delivery and technology.
In January 2022, the predecessor organisation Keski‑Uudenmaan sote‑kuntayhtymä set out a similar ambition through its Business and Management Consultancy Services notice, covering innovation, service‑system development, project work and piloting within a TKI ecosystem. The latest procurement appears to build on that model, with a clearer emphasis on research collaboration.
Welfare areas elsewhere are pursuing comparable paths. In March 2022, Itä‑Uudenmaan hyvinvointialue sought partners for ICT design and management, including project management, integrator roles and architecture tasks, to operate in a multi‑supplier environment via its ICT consultation services framework. In May 2025, Länsi‑Uudenmaan hyvinvointialue issued an Expert Services for Service Renewal call focused on service renewal, data‑driven management and AI. And in December 2024, Kymenlaakson hyvinvointialue sought expert support for renewal spanning project management, service development, customer relationship management and management functions, with no minimum commitments.
National shared‑service bodies are also investing in knowledge and AI capability. In June 2024, DigiFinland launched a Knowledge Management and AI Services system for platforms, licences and expert support. In September 2024, 2M‑IT Oy set up a similar route for healthcare and social care organisations through its AI and Knowledge Management Services arrangement. These initiatives provide building blocks that local welfare areas can align with when commissioning analytics, ethics and governance expertise.
Other public bodies have shown how broad expert frameworks can support complex change. The City of Turku’s May 2022 call for expert and consulting services spanned business‑model design, service management, customer guidance, e‑services, situational awareness and data‑protection concerns. The breadth echoes the category mix now in view in Central Uusimaa.
Linking directly to scientific communities raises practical questions about research governance, ethics and data handling. Some Finnish buyers have already addressed this through dedicated systems. In April 2022, Istekki Oy procured e‑services and management systems for research activities, covering ethics workflows, permits and lifecycle tracking. While the Central Uusimaa notice does not specify tooling, the emphasis on research collaboration suggests a need to line up processes and standards so project work and evidence generation reinforce each other.
Elsewhere in the Nordics, buyers have turned to flexible multi‑supplier systems to keep pipelines open across disciplines. That trend underlines the appeal of arrangements that can source narrowly defined expertise one week and programme‑level support the next, all under a consistent governance model.
The scope invites a mix of providers: service‑design teams for system development, project leaders to run transformation programmes, strategists to align portfolios, and research partners to test and validate. For suppliers, the attraction is a route to repeated call‑offs in defined categories where subject‑matter depth and collaboration credentials will count.
For the buyer, the test will be balancing breadth with focus. Category management can keep demand organised, but it needs clear definitions, fair call‑off rules and a shared view of outcomes. The lack of published value or timelines in the text means those details will be set in later documents.
Watch for how Keski‑Uudenmaan hyvinvointialue sequences its category competitions and how it uses the research link to shape pilots and adoption. Alignment with national knowledge‑management and AI initiatives will also be worth tracking, as will the way ESG priorities are embedded in briefs and measurement. The architecture is in place; delivery discipline and smart use of evidence will decide the impact.
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