New analysis: 82% of Danes do not believe in a better future
82 percent of Danes do not believe that society will be better in 10 years. This is according to new figures from the think tank INVI. The figures highlight a problem we have had for a long time. It's time for action, says leading reform expert and think tank INVI.
A recently published analysis from think tank INVI, conducted in collaboration with Epinion, shows that Danes have little confidence that the political system can create positive change. As many as 82% of Danes are neither impressed by past reforms nor convinced that society will be better in the future, according to the analysis.
Question wording: "If you imagine Danish society in ten years and compare it to today. Do you think society in 10 years will be:". The figures come from a new analysis conducted by the think tank INVI based on a representative sample of 1,041 Danes.
The Danes' lack of confidence is far from unfounded, according to economics professor Nina Smith, chair of the government's Reform Commission:
"My own experience from the Reform Commission's work is that it is difficult for both civil servants and politicians to find solutions to complex problems. It can also be difficult to get the media and politicians to understand that wild problems cannot simply be explained and solved with a few quick sentences, headlines and quick fixes."
By wild problems, economics professor Nina Smith refers to the major political challenges that successive governments have tried in vain to solve over the past few years. The welfare crisis, the climate crisis and the crisis of youth unhappiness, to name a few.
The wild problems we face today often require different approaches than the ones we used yesterday, and as a result, change fails to happen - and that creates mistrust:
"It becomes a democratic problem that Danes don't trust our society's ability to deal with wild problems, which is why we need to find new ways for Danes to regain their trust," says the economics professor.
Politicians fail especially on less bureaucracy and dignified elderly care
Danes also believe that it is unlikely that the political system will be able to deliver on a number of agendas by 2030. In particular, the ability to create less bureaucracy and more dignified care for the elderly:
Question wording: How likely do you think it is that the political system in Denmark will be able to deliver the following results in 2030? For the sake of clarity, the categories are "very likely" and "likely". The same goes for 'very unlikely' and 'unlikely'. The categories "neither" and "don't know" have also been omitted from this figure.
While there are many reasons for the worrying figures, think tank INVI sees one reason in particular:
"We have built a very complex society over the past decades with rules that overlap. But we have forgotten to update the toolbox for this situation," says INVI's CEO, Sigge Winther Nielsen, and continues:
"The political system is rarely geared to solve society's wild problems. Think of young people without jobs and education, unhappiness or large parts of the climate crisis."
Positive political momentum - implementation as the new political buzzword
The new figures show that only 14% of Danes believe that political decisions are made with an eye on whether they can be implemented.
This is possibly a realization that the newly created Ministry of Green Tripartite in Christiansborg has made. Think tank INVI sees the government's focus on implementation as a significant step in the right direction.
"By pooling all the crucial officials with relevant knowledge under one hat, one ministry, they will have to fight less with each other. This will hopefully give them time to seek out the world and engage with municipalities, foundations, companies and civil society so that those on the front line have a voice in the implementation of the green tripartite or other wild problems," says Director Sigge Winther.
However, it is not only within climate, nature and Danish agriculture where there is a need for more cross-disciplinary collaboration outside the walls of Borgen, the director elaborates:
"We need all hands on deck. Parliament, municipalities, foundations, companies, civil society and not least the ordinary Dane must contribute. It requires patience - and acceptance that no one can have everything and no one can solve everything - especially not alone. It's not an easy sell, but it's necessary if we are to regain trust. This is not just the politicians' problem - it's all of ours."
New tool to measure wild problems
For the past year, the think tank INVI has been hard at work building a new tool to help decision makers tackle wild societal problems. A compass for complex societal problems - also known as INVI's Wild Problems Model.
The model will be published on September 13. The model has been developed using AI technology - and in close collaboration with a field of leading Danish social scientists and a large panel of practitioners from across the country. The launch takes place at a hearing at Christiansborg, where the model will be presented to, among others, Minister of Finance Nikolai Wammen.
If you want to hear more about the figures behind the analysis or about INVI's Wild Problems Model, please contact Tine Maria Borresø, Head of Communications, at +45 61 66 30 60 or tinemaria@invi.nu.