Tampere Runs Science Sparring With University to Sharpen Transport Climate Measures

The city held a science sparring session on 22 October 2026 to review its climate roadmap and stress-test transport-related emissions measures.

Organised with Tampere University, the session used a method from the Finnish Academy of Science that brings researchers and city experts together to identify knowledge gaps, challenge assumptions and assess the effectiveness, feasibility and public acceptability of current and proposed transport actions. Participants ranged from experts at the Traffic Research Centre Verne, led by Heikki Liimatainen, to university teachers and professors in sustainability, accounting and communications, and city planners from climate policy, land use and transport teams. Kaisa Mustajärvi of the Climate and Environmental Policy unit said, "Research does not make decisions for us, but it helps make options and their impacts more visible for decision-making."

The exercise is part of a new partnership programme between the City of Tampere and the Tampere higher education consortium, aimed at strengthening research-based decision-making through pilots and experiments. The city ran a first science sparring on AI governance in June 2026 and plans to embed successful trials into the partnership's work programme. An earlier June pilot tested the science sparring format on the city's AI programme the June AI sparring session.