Sebastian Godenhjelm

Sebastian Godenhjelm is a University Lecturer in Political Science and Public Management at the Swedish School of Social Science (SSSS) at the University of Helsinki. He holds a Docent title from Åbo Akademi University and has held visiting researcher positions at Cornell University and Lund University. His research focuses on public management, collaborative governance, projectification, and regional development in Finland, emphasizing the interplay between traditional governance and temporary network-based organizations.

Education & Professional Background:

• Docent in Political Science, Åbo Akademi University (2024–)
• Visiting Researcher at Cornell University and Lund University
• Senior Officer at the Ministry of Justice (Finland)
• Evaluator for Finnish ministries and think tanks (MAGMA)

Research Interests: Public management innovations, project organizations as hybrid entities, stakeholder management, and the temporal dimensions of policy implementation. He explores how governance structures adapt to contemporary challenges like crises and digital transformation.

Teaching & Supervision: Coordinates leadership programs across six university departments, teaches courses on interactive governance and project management. Supervises bachelor’s and master’s theses in political science and public administration, including doctoral co-supervision of Lasse Mäki.

Key Projects: Leads the DemGo project (2021–2025) exploring democratic qualities in collaborative governance, and the POLYGOV project analyzing Nordic local democracy during crises. Participates in EU-funded initiatives like INNO-NORD.

Awards & Recognition: Teacher of the Year (2024), Fellowship to the Teachers’ Academy (2022), and recognition for Master’s thesis excellence (2005).

Labs & Collaborations: Collaborates with the HELSUS Co-Creation Lab and the Leadership Pipeline and Quality in Higher Education (LPQHE) network. Active in Nordic research networks including Nordic Political Science Association (NoPSA) and SIG-13 on public sector project management.

Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes crisis governance (e.g., Finland’s pandemic response), projectification dynamics, and Nordic citizenship models. Combines empirical case studies with theoretical contributions to public administration and policy analysis.