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What is HAUS?

HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd is an in-house company 100% owned by the state. In such companies, the state has a specific interest related to regulation or official duties. These companies are assigned a business, societal, or other political mission—or a special role—defined by the government. Our special mission is to provide training and development services for the government administration. The Act on the Limited Liability Company Named HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd can be found here. We operate under the administrative branch of the Ministry of Finance, which is also responsible for the ownership steering of our company.

Our Clients

Our statutory clients include government ministries and agencies, state-owned enterprises, and off-budget state funds. In addition, our clients include the Parliament of Finland and units operating under its authority, supervision, or connection. These include the National Audit Office of Finland and the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Bank of Finland (operating under the guarantee and management of Parliament), as well as the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, both of which operate under parliamentary supervision.

We may also provide legislative drafting training to the Government of Åland and to officeholders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, including secretaries of the Church Synod committees.

Furthermore, our clients can include the administration of the European Union and intergovernmental organizations in which Finland is a member. These include, among others, the OECD, the United Nations, and its specialized agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Strategy, Vision, and Mission

Our strategy process is agile. By this, we mean that we do not lock ourselves into a fixed four-year strategy. Instead, we review our operating environment, its changes, and our clients’ needs annually. Based on this evaluation, we determine whether to continue on the current path or adjust our strategic focus. This flexibility ensures timely and high-quality services for our clients and learners.

Our long-term goals for 2025–2028:

Builder of strategic partnerships and customer-oriented services
Promoter of good governance and international cooperation
Enhancer of agency operations and efficiency
Developer of state-level expertise and digital learning
Responsible and impactful actor

Vision

We are the most responsible and impactful public sector competence developer in Europe.

Mission

We build a sustainable future by promoting learning and competence in public administration every day.

Values

So that everyone can succeed. So that everyone can learn. So that everyone can trust.

What does it mean to be an in-house actor?

HAUS is a Government Stakeholder Unit

HAUS was designated as a government stakeholder unit in 2010, when the Act on the Limited Liability Company Named HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd entered into force.

As a stakeholder unit, we can provide training and development services to our clients without the need for a competitive bidding process.

Proposed Act on HAUS (HE 162/2009)

We Handle Expert Procurement on Your Behalf

The in-house arrangement is based on Section 15 of the Finnish Procurement Act, which states that the Act does not apply to procurements made by the state from its own stakeholder unit.

However, HAUS, like all other contracting authorities, is still subject to the Procurement Act. We carry out competitive tendering for all our experts, trainers, and partners in accordance with the law.

Finnish Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts

Operational Limitations of a Stakeholder Unit

At least 95% of our turnover must come from contracting authorities that are our clients—namely, government ministries and agencies.

HAUS may provide services to entities outside the state administration only up to a maximum of 5% of its annual turnover (or up to €500,000, whichever is lower).

Benefits of Procuring Through a Stakeholder Unit

Collaborating with a stakeholder unit like HAUS saves you effort. Through us, your organization can easily access pre-tendered training and development services. Additionally, when your organization consolidates its development and training procurements with a single unit, scaling these efforts becomes easier.

The expertise resources that support the development of the government administration are available for shared use through us.

Our Story

Over its fifty-year history, HAUS has undergone many developmental phases—from a government budget-funded agency to a state-owned company, and ultimately to an in-house operator within the government administration.

HAUS celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. In an anniversary interview, our Managing Director Kyösti Väkeväinen stated, “Finland’s success, wellbeing, and the prerequisites for a good life will continue to rely on competence and cooperation both nationally and internationally. We at HAUS want to do our part. We want to raise the competence of the government administration and contribute to developing government operations.”

This vision has guided the development of HAUS’s services and operations from its earliest days. The same strong belief in competence development—and through it, the maintenance of societal wellbeing—has endured.

We want to be today and tomorrow the world’s best developer of public administration, leading the way for the future of learning.

The history of HAUS begins at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, a very different time in Finland compared to today. The era was marked by President Kekkonen, the YYA Treaty (Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) with the Soviet Union, coexistence alongside the eastern neighbor, and the start of lottery drawings. At that time, the state employed approximately 200,000 people.

The need for a state-owned center for competence development emerged during the 1960s. The Act on the State Training Center (VKK) came into effect on February 1, 1971, following a proposal by Minister Olavi J. Mattila and approval by President Urho Kekkonen. VKK began operations on March 1, 1971. The training center was established in the former Cadet School premises in Munkkiniemi.

The first leadership training program, JOKO, was launched in 1984. The program was indeed lengthy, lasting 8 sessions of 5 days each.

In 1987, the State Development Centre was formed by combining the State Training Center with parts of the Ministry of Finance’s organization and salary departments, as well as the planning secretariat.

By the late 1980s, the number of state employees had decreased to approximately 140,000.

Finland joined the European Union on January 1, 1995, and HAUS’s role expanded to include training state personnel on various EU-related matters, including EU legislation.

As the EU enlarged, there was a need to support new member states in reaching the required level of membership readiness. The facilities at Munkkiniemi Pensionaat were filled to capacity with trainees.

HAUS began participating in EU Twinning-funded projects.

The Development Centre was transformed into a state enterprise, and in 1995 it was renamed the Administration Development Centre.

At this time, the number of state employees was approximately 120,000.

Around the turn of the millennium, HAUS became a state enterprise and, on September 1, 2002, a limited liability company.

In the early days, separating operations from budget funding and moving to a fee-based model was new to the public administration.

For a few years, part of the ownership was transferred to private hands, until in 2006 HAUS returned to being 100% state-owned.

At the same time, we discontinued our consulting business and focused solely on training.

The Act on HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd came into effect in 2009.

The state enterprise transformed into an in-house government stakeholder unit. HAUS began investing in the development of a digital learning environment. The eOppiva service was launched in 2018 for all state employees. The service became a success story, marking the start of digital learning in the public sector.

In March 2018, HAUS relocated from Munkkiniemi to Heimola House on Yliopistonkatu, a building with a significant role in Finnish history. The original Heimola House was once the meeting place of Parliament, which declared Finland’s independence on December 6, 1917. The building was also where Finland’s first three presidents—K. J. Ståhlberg, Lauri Kristian Relander, and P. E. Svinhufvud—were elected, and where decisions were made on Finland’s republican form of government and its first constitution.

The early 2020s have posed challenges to public administration from both individual and organizational perspectives. Organizations must continuously develop their operations in an ever-changing environment. New ways of working, new skills, and their adoption require ongoing competence development.

At the core of HAUS is a deep understanding of government administration. This understanding arises through interaction. Our role is increasingly evolving into that of a facilitator of change and a developer of competence.