Suomi.fi content cooperation is also suitable for joint projects

In November 2024, the Ministry of the Interior published a preparedness guide for citizens in the Suomi.fi Web Service. The project also experimented with a new way of producing a guide to Suomi.fi.

Read more about the project: The Ministry of the Interior made use of the Suomi.fi Web Service to publish an individual emergency planning guide

Careful planning as a basis for a successful project

We have been producing Suomi.fi guides for years as our own work, in accordance with the content cooperation model. However, we were now faced with a new kind of situation in the web editorial office, as the Ministry of the Interior had the main responsibility for the guide project and its contents.

First of all, we had to think:

• How are the roles and responsibilities divided between the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) and the Ministry of the Interior?
• How do we ensure the progress of the content process in accordance with our model?
• How do we ensure that the guide is sufficiently consistent with our other guides?

For this reason, at the beginning of the project, we carefully planned everything from the initial stage to the post-publication marketing of the guide. We made a weekly schedule for the project, in accordance with the DVV content cooperation model, so that

• we were able to consider various dependencies and the time needed by different parties to take matters forward
• everyone involved in the project knew where their input was needed.

The scheduling was quite easy with the DVV process description and workbook. And also successful, as we were able to proceed accordingly, with the exception of small final refinements. Of course, we continuously checked the progress at weekly project meetings. At times, we also needed to adapt to various situations, but this happens in all projects.

We also received praise from the content network of the guide for communicating clearly about the progress of the project and the network’s tasks at different stages.

The content cooperation model also works as an externally led process

When we produce a guide as our own work, we have an internal workbook and the support of the entire web editorial team. We are also responsible for all areas ourselves.

When the author of the guide comes from outside the house and our role is more sparring and ensuring compliance with technical requirements, time had to be reserved for looking over the guide concept and the content cooperation model, even though we were already eager to start working on the guide. In retrospect, we could have spent even more time on the structural and technical requirements of the content, in particular, in order to make the content design more straightforward.

At times, we also experienced some agony with letting go of control. At those moments, we just needed to trust the other party and maintain close discussion on the progress of things.

The content cooperation model itself proved to be an effective tool also for external authors. For this guide, we had a ready-made content network through the Ministry of the Interior and enough basic information on citizens’ needs and problems. We only needed to make decisions on target groups and content restrictions with the network. Therefore, we were unable to test the initial stages of the process with the external author. This is sometimes the case with our own guides, as well, as we may get the results of a service design project as a basis, and we can directly deepen customer understanding from the perspective of the contents of the guide.

In the end, it was good that the author of the guide had a work partner and content sparring partner who had little knowledge of substance issues. This allowed us to constantly question matters and seek the best possible solution to the structure and contents of the guide.

Overall, the preparedness guide project succeeded well from DVV’s perspective, and it provided the Suomi.fi web editorial team with assurance that we can engage in content cooperation either entirely as our own work or as more or less “outsourced”.

“The Suomi.fi preparedness guide was a productive project implemented in extensive cooperation. The content cooperation model and guide concept provided a smooth implementation method.”
- Jaana Vaahtio, Ministry of the Interior

Want to hear more about content cooperation?
Please send a message to suomifi(a)suomi.fi, and we will be in touch!

The preparedness guide skyrocketed the website’s traffic

The Preparing for Incidents and CrisesOpens in a new window. guide was published on 18 November 2024 – by accident on the same day as Sweden began posting an updated version of the preparedness instructions. This together with the global political situation attracted international media attention. In Finland, the topicality of the matter and the efficient communication and marketing of the Ministry of the Interior and the guide content network ensured extensive attention and discussion on the guide.

In the first week, the preparedness guide collected more than 290,000 visits and more than 653,000 views of different pages. By the end of 2024, nearly 479,000 visits and more than 990,000 page views had been made.

People also provided plenty of feedback on the guide. By the end of 2024, the guide had received 4,595 feedbacks. Of the respondents, 82.5% were satisfied or partially satisfied.

Text: Niina Asikainen, The Suomi.fi editorial team, Digital and Population Data Services Agency