The ÅAU Center of Excellence project FutuDem sets out to study the current condition of democracy and to test new deliberative and participatory models of democracy functions in practice, especially democratic deliberation by discussions in small groups on a certain topic. The project FutuDem strengthens our position as the leading university in Finland regarding research on public opinion.

The research within FutuDem is carried out in close collaboration with leading national and international researchers in democracy. In addition, our researchers collaborate with the Ministry of Justice in Finland, the City of Turku, the Association of Local and Regional Authorities in Finland, and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions to give hands-on advice on people’s participation in democratic decision-making.

The research team at FutuDem (The Future of Democracy – Center of Excellence in Public Opinion Research) consists of researchers in social sciences, in Turku and in Vaasa. FutuDem is administered by the Social Science Research Institute (Samforsk). The Director is Kimmo Grönlund, Professor in Political Science.