Insight
Contemporary societies are built on economic growth. Yet in the Global North, this growth is likely to be limited in the future. And so far, decoupling growth from environmental harm has proven anything but easy.
This is why I am part of SISU, a research project that focuses on sufficiency solutions. We believe sufficiency is a crucial virtue for our time. It offers a way to keep the promises of the green transition and the welfare state – even in conditions where the economy does not grow.
SISU is a broad, multidisciplinary consortium, bringing together ecological and industrial economics, sociology, pedagogy, ethnography, sustainability research and futures studies. It is part of the Strategic Research Council’s six-year JUST TRANSITION programme, running until 2029. Over this period we aim to build a clear understanding of what a sufficiency-based model of wellbeing requires. That means developing new ecological macroeconomic models to simulate sufficiency scenarios, examining the attitudes of vulnerable groups toward the future, studying trust in institutions during transition, and experimenting with Heritage Futures Workshops that help communities co-create new anticipatory beliefs around sufficiency.
My role is to direct stakeholder interaction. I design processes that amplify the impact of our research – helping scholars connect their results to real-world needs, and creating conditions where those results can be turned into better policies, practices, and plans. A key part of this work is a series of transition arenas that bring researchers together with civil servants, NGOs, politicians, activists, and business leaders to craft visions and pathways for sufficiency solutions.
I also conduct research myself, often in collaboration. SISU has opened new perspectives for me: On how sufficiency might change the way we think about the future, and on deep philosophical questions – such as whether a liberal worldview can coexist with post-growth and society-wide commitments to climate neutrality.
Process
JUST TRANSITION is one of the largest research programmes on sustainability transformations – both in Europe and globally. Alongside SISU, it funds four other ambitious projects, each with strong commitments to both scientific and societal impact. These projects were chosen in 2023 through a rigorous evaluation process, selected from dozens of applications by panels of international experts.
The consortium is led by Professor Arto O. Salonen, who had the courage to bring together a bold proposal on sufficiency and post-growth society. He created remarkable momentum from the start – building motivation within the team and connecting us with an exceptional network of stakeholders even during the proposal stage.
Now, two years into the work, JUST TRANSITION has become one of the most enthusiastic and inspiring multidisciplinary research consortia I have ever been part of. Perhaps even the most. And without question, it is the one filled with the kindest people.
Outcomes
The best is still ahead.
The ecological macro-economic model is soon to be up and running, opening new ground for exploring sufficiency-based transitions.
Already, SISU has organised a series of Heritage Futures workshops in museums across Finland, inviting people to imagine sufficiency through cultural memory and shared anticipation. Researchers in the consortium have published dozens of journal articles, alongside several foundational texts that define what sufficiency is, what sufficiency solutions look like, and what sufficiency means for different groups of citizens.
For my own part, I have so far contributed two book chapters: Just Green Transition: A Lens for Examining Anticipatory Systems and Their Evolution, and The Future(s) of the Welfare State.
And still, the best is yet to come in the years ahead.
Partners
Demos Helsinki: Sofia Suomalainen, Salla Käppi, Seona Candy, Satu Lähteenoja
University of Eastern Finland: Arto Salonen, Teemu Koskimäki, Teija Makkonen, Sirpa Manninen, Antti-Jussi Kouvo, Topi-Matti Heikkola, Heli Turtiainen, Rasmus Sihvonen, Valtteri Vuorinen
LUT University: Lassi Linnanen, Miika Marttila, Natasha Järviö
University of Turku: Elina Kilpi-Jakonen, Katriina Siivonen, Laura Heiskala, Teija Koskela, Amanda Pasanen, Johanna Ollila
Reflection
Thinking about desirable futures is harder than it seems. We rarely imagine more than one path ahead, and almost never several positive ones. Too often the future is pictured as a straight continuation of the present, only with today’s problems solved. Especially with complex issues like climate change or artificial intelligence, the tendency is to seek simple fixes – political or technological solutions that leave our daily lives and deep social structures untouched.
But relying only on economic growth as the promise of a better future is risky. Current forms of growth bring progress, yes, but also escalating challenges for climate and nature. And growth itself is uncertain. Finland’s economy between 2010 and 2025 is a good reminder of that. A narrow focus on growth futures limits us twice: First in our ability to imagine diverse ways of living, and then again in our ability to make them real.
This is why alternatives matter. Societies need to know how to thrive even when growth slows or stalls. Flexibility, resilience, and sufficiency become virtues of survival.
For me, this is the essence of the SISU project: Having the mandate to explore a broader spectrum of futures, to ask what might make them acceptable – even desirable – and to test their feasibility with a rigorous, interdisciplinary, highly motivated team.
At the time of writing (2025), SISU has been running for two years. Sufficiency as a societal, political or economic idea is still little known, and post-growth futures often trigger polarised, politicised reactions. By the end of the project in 2029, our aim is to change this – through solid interdisciplinary research, through co-creation with actors from across society, and through translating our findings into proposals that are not only clear and actionable, but also inspiring. On the future of society, economy, politics and everyday life.
SISU Research project
