Sustainable development is integrated in Metropolia’s daily operations
Sustainable development is a intersecting theme in Metropolia’s strategy. This entity is the responsibility of the Development Director. The deputy CEO is in charge of sustainable growth. In the beginning of 2021, two new roles were established to promote sustainable development operations: the sustainable development manager is responsible for coordinating them and the environmental expert develops the organization’s environmental responsibility. In addition, three thematic teams – a sustainable development team, carbon neutrality team and training team – and a sustainable development network were established. During 2021, 15 experts from various parts of the organization participated in the teams’ operations. The network connects personnel and students interested in sustainability to accelerate change in the organization, and at the end of 2021, it had 90 participants.
In 2021, Metropolia prepared a sustainable development roadmap extending to 2030. The roadmap incorporates sustainable development from the strategy in daily operations. The entire HEI community was included in the preparation of the roadmap, and dialogue took place in theme workshops, in addition to the existing forums. Each roadmap theme has a designated director responsible whose task is to facilitate development work. The objectives and measures of the roadmap are part of Metropolia’s annual planning of operations. Sustainable development is included in Metropolia’s shared objectives, and each Metropolia unit has at least one objective related to sustainable development in the Tsemppi operations management system. In future, the measures will also be promoted by means of goal discussions and rewarding.
The sustainable development team created a basic course in sustainable development for Metropolia’s entire personnel and developed Metropolia’s carbon footprint calculation. In addition, the team built a methodology for the assessment of the status of sustainable development teaching. The assessment will be carried out in all Metropolia’s degree programmes in 2022. A new responsibility website was set up for Metropolia. The website also includes a visual presentation of the road map, and sustainability themes were communicated actively in the organization’s different forums and events.
From an ICT architecture to a strategy- and operations-based enterprise architecture
Metropolia has been developing the enterprise architecture in a consistent manner from an ICT-oriented architecture towards strategy- and operations-based architecture in such a way that it serves operations management in the organization overall. In accordance with the architecture principles, the architecture should support the implementation of the operational objectives of Metropolia’s strategy. Operations-orientation directs the architecture work in the development of services and processes and in ICT systems development and technology solutions. The enterprise architecture has, for example, supported the development and implementation of information and knowledge management, as well as case management and HR projects. The enterprise architecture work applies the Ministry of Finance public administration recommendation no. JHS 179 on the design and development of enterprise architecture as well as the TOGAF framework.
The enterprise architecture has been linked to data protection work since the very beginning. The needs identified in creating a data protection inventory and in work for the enterprise architecture were in many respects the same. Therefore, the architecture management system Arter ARC is also a management tool for data protection. Later, the same system was also implemented in the management of information security. The architecture description is also applied in the maintenance of the information management model defined in the Act on Information Management in Public Administration. This is because the enterprise architecture forms the core of the information management model. This structure was used in finalizing the information management model.
The benefits of enterprise architecture have been identified in the comprehensive development and the management of complexity in the organization. This is demonstrated by transferring enterprise architecture from information management to the function responsible for strategy and development. Work is well organised and resourced: an enterprise architect, business architect, information architect, and information system/technology architect ensure that Metropolia’s processes, ICT systems and data form a functioning whole. The architecture is described and documented in the ARC. The enterprise architecture is also linked to quality management via the business architect. The architecture steering group and the architecture group manage the enterprise architecture work and its development.
Parru – a sparring team for inclusion and a participatory work approach
Numerous participatory methods were applied in Metropolia’s development and in the promotion of the operating culture in the 2017–2020 strategy period. The encouraging results obtained motivated Metropolia to solidify the operating practice by establishing the internal Parru support service to support dialogue and co-creation. The Parru team motivates and encourages members of the Metropolia community to apply a participatory work approach and to enable inclusion in different situations. The team’s approach is that of dialogue and co-creation and helps clarify the objectives of processes and to set up a road map for the meeting of the objectives.
For example, in 2021, the Parru team supported five strategic development projects through long-term planning and implementation of the participatory approach. In turn, short-term support was provided by planning and organizing approximately 50 individual events. Many of them were Metropolia’s internal events, but the activities were also extended to external stakeholders by organizing a sustainable development online seminar for Arene and facilitation training for the personnel of the City of Vantaa. The Metropolia community’s skills to apply the participatory work approach in practice was supported by organizing more than 70 brief sparring events. During the year, eight Dialoginuotio events were organised to support the dialogue between the participants.
The Parru support service is a three-year pilot, ending at the end of 2022. In the final year of the pilot, the goal is to assemble the lessons learned and insights gained. This package will then enable the organization to utilize what has been learned. The participatory work approach should become a part of the daily work for all members of the Metropolia community. Another goal is to build an operating model for a permanent and centralized Parru support service.