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The focus is on a case study carried out in the region of Kainuu between 2014 and 2016 by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and the Kainuu joint municipal authority for social welfare and health care. The project was launched after a structural reform of municipalities and services (known as the PARAS reform) carried out earlier.

The aim was to redefine the role of municipality in local service provision based on a multi-provider model involving citizens. Citizen-driven development was first started in Kajaani in 2014 and later on in the region’s other municipalities. The project used service design methods and phases. The first two phases, discovery and creation, were implemented in 2014, and the two subsequent phases, reality check and implementation, a year later.