TY - JOUR T1 - Governance Solutions for Wicked Problems: Metropolitan Innovation Ecosystems as Frontrunners to Sustainable Well-Being JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2015 A1 - Timo J. Hämäläinen KW - cities KW - complexity KW - governance KW - sustainability KW - well-being KW - wicked problem AB - The growing specialization and interdependence of societies as well as their rapid technological and economic transformation have increased the level of uncertainty and complexity in decision making and the role of wicked problems in policy making. This article analyzes the nature and evolution of wicked problems and argues that they stem from the gap between the complexity of the policy problem and the variety of the corresponding governance arrangements. This complexity gap can be closed with new governance solutions that include participation, interaction, and cooperation among stakeholders; collective learning processes; coordination by mutual adjustment and clear systemic direction, decentralization, diversity, and experimentation; and effective measures to overcome system rigidities and development bottlenecks. For several reasons, cities and metropolitan areas provide ideal ecosystems for addressing wicked problems. They have the requisite variety of resources, capabilities and services, physical proximity that facilitates rich face-to-face communication, learning and cooperation, as well as the right scope for producing and experimenting with the necessary public goods and services. The article concludes by arguing that Finland could become a global frontrunner in solving wicked problems in policy making by adopting a strategy of sustainable well-being. This strategy would build on the world-class well-being knowledge within the Finnish welfare state and the rapidly growing international research on subjective well-being and happiness. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 5 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/935 IS - 10 U1 - Sitra Timo Hämäläinen is a Fellow in the Strategy Unit of Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, and he is a Docent (Adjunct Professor) of International Business in the University of Eastern Finland. He has also been a visiting scholar in the OECD, Paris, and the Wilson Center, Washington, DC. He holds an MSc in Marketing from Aalto University (Helsinki School of Economics) in Finland and an MBA and a PhD in International Business from Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States. Timo’s research has focused on organizational strategy and theory, institutional economics, long socio-economic cycles, social and institutional innovation, everyday life and well-being, public-sector governance, as well as innovation and industrial policy. His most recent research projects have centered on the changing nature of well-being in advanced societies, sustainable socio-economic model and the development of new business ecosystems. ER -