Data-driven management is the foundation of effective well-being work
Promoting the well-being and health of residents is a statutory responsibility of municipalities. This task is increasingly demanding, as mental health challenges, loneliness, declining work ability, and everyday stress affect a growing share of the population. Effective decisions and interventions require reliable information about current conditions and emerging trends. Without municipality-specific data, it is impossible to know which solutions work and produce meaningful outcomes.
Data-driven management is a central component of well-being governance. It is not an optional addition for municipalities but a prerequisite for effective well-being leadership. However, decision-making is currently challenged by limited access to high-quality, up-to-date, and comparable indicators. In particular, there are significant gaps in information concerning the health and well-being of the adult population, which weakens the ability to form an accurate situational picture and to target interventions appropriately.
Incomplete or outdated information can lead to incorrect interpretations and decisions that fail to address actual needs. Data quality is not merely a technical issue; it lies at the heart of effective governance. The success of well-being management depends on how well we identify key phenomena, understand their development, and recognize the underlying causes influencing them.
Another challenge is data comparability. Municipalities make use of a variety of surveys and assessments, but without common indicators or representative sampling methods, results are not always comparable. This creates a risk that decisions will be based on isolated datasets that do not reliably reflect the broader situation of the population.
Comparable data supports better decision-making
Comparability is a fundamental element of data-driven management. When municipalities can compare their own situation with that of other municipalities or regions, they are better able to distinguish between local challenges and broader societal trends. Such comparisons also help assess whether development is moving in the desired direction and what lessons can be learned from the experiences of others.
Comparable data supports not only decision-making and leadership but also intermunicipal cooperation, as well as the development and implementation of shared solutions. Without comparable information, municipalities can become overly dependent on their own interpretations of local conditions.
Access to information is not distributed equally. Municipalities vary in their resources for producing and utilizing data, placing them in unequal positions regarding data-driven management. This inequality is also visible from the residents’ perspective: if information is not equally comprehensive and reliable across municipalities, opportunities to identify needs and target interventions fairly are likewise unequal.
Municipalities carry significant responsibility for promoting health and well-being. Meeting this responsibility requires up-to-date and reliable information. Without a strong knowledge base, municipal actions are more likely to be reactive and based on assumptions rather than evidence. A robust evidence base is therefore the foundation of impactful well-being work and enables sustainable and well-justified decisions.
The Finnish Healthy Cities Network emphasizes the need to strengthen the evidence base supporting municipal well-being work. Nationally produced, high-quality, and comparable data on well-being across different age groups is an investment in better decision-making, more effective interventions, and improved resident well-being. Without a common evidence base, municipalities’ ability to identify needs, target actions, and evaluate impact is compromised. Not all municipalities have the resources to commission separate population samples from national organizations such as the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) or from private providers. A strong municipal-level evidence base is essential for impactful decision-making and the promotion of residents’ well-being.
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The Finnish Healthy Cities Network
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