Senior research scientist Kaisa J. Raatikainen: Researcher at the core of sustainability transformation
Kaisa J. Raatikainen, Senior research scientist
Unit and group: Societal change unit, politics of knowledge group
Where do you work at? Jyväskylä office and remotely
Which species would represent you the most?
“Moonwort Botrychium lunaria. It is a small fern that thrives in traditional rural biotopes, just like I do. It looks very modest, but has an interesting life cycle.”
Senior research scientist Kaisa Raatikainen has been at Syke for about a year at the time of the interview. She started in the summer of 2023 in the Politics of knowledge group of the Societal change unit. Kaisa has a background in biology and studied ecology at the University of Jyväskylä. After graduating with a Master of Science, she has worked at the ELY centre of Central Finland and at Metsähallitus’ Parks and Wildlife Finland, planning management and conservation of traditional rural biotopes, i.e., meadows and wood-pastures. In her doctoral thesis, completed in 2018, she investigated the conservation of Finland’s traditional rural biotopes from a social-ecological perspective. This led Kaisa to incline towards social scientific approaches in her research. ‘At that point, the ecologist turned into this strange interdisciplinary sustainability researcher that I am today’, Kaisa summarises.
The social sciences’ perspective appeared important to Kaisa for understanding sustainability. ‘It became clear to me that since environmental issues are caused by people, they can only be solved by influencing people’s actions. And to influence people’s actions, you need to understand why and how people act.’ In her research, Kaisa prefers to take a positive approach to the issues at hand. ‘There is a lot of research in the field of conservation science that identifies what people are doing wrong. I rather want to identify what people are doing right and how that could be supported’, Kaisa explains.
At Syke, Kaisa conducts interdisciplinary research in which she involves citizens and actors from various fields. In her work, she utilises her diverse networks from Syke and the academic world. The research work itself mostly consists of reading research articles and background literature, collecting and analysing empirical data, and, of course, writing. At the time of the interview, Kaisa is co-leading the international Blue4All project on marine protection, which includes administrative tasks and collaboration meetings, as is typical of the project’s interactive working method. Ultimately, Kaisa’s working days vary according to the progress of ongoing projects.
Kaisa feels that the sustainability transformation is at the core of her work. The essence of her work is to understand the need for a sustainability transformation across different sectors of the society, and the pathways to achieve such change. ‘We need to adopt a perspective that recognises the diverse benefits and values of nature, and then balance the value of nature with the extent to which humans can use it’, Kaisa clarifies. In Syke, the framework of strong sustainability and the identification of ways to implement the sustainability transformation are important organisational aims and this is highly motivating for Kaisa.
The support of the organisation and the work community are particularly meaningful for Kaisa while working at Syke. ‘One of my first observations at Syke was that this is a research community where you genuinely get help and can help others. As a community, we have a common agenda, which becomes visible in the supportive work atmosphere’, Kaisa says. According to her, colleagues are the best part of her job. ‘I have colleagues at the Jyväskylä office, the Societal change unit and our group team, and of course the whole Syke community around me. It really enriches my work immensely’, Kaisa continues. So far, her brightest memory related to Syke is the phone call informing her that she had been selected for her current position. ‘When writing the job application, it became clear how much I wanted to work here, and when I was chosen, it was absolutely fantastic’, Kaisa recalls.
Why should people come to work at Syke?
‘If you are interested in nature, the state of the environment, and want to promote sustainability, this is a unique workplace. At Syke we are at the heart of understanding the state of and changes in the Finnish nature and how ongoing processes can be guided towards better outcomes. Syke has a lot of expertise in various fields, and we conduct environmental monitoring and applied research. On top of that, there is a strong connection between Syke’s research and decision-making through the ministries, which is a significant strength for Syke.’