About us
FINEEC’s statutory task
• to conduct evaluations related to education and ECEC as well as the activities of ECEC, education and training providers and higher education institutions
• to carry out learning outcomes evaluations in accordance to the Basic Education Act, the Act on General Upper Secondary Education, the Vocational Education and Training Act and the Act on Basic Education in the Arts
• to support ECEC providers and education and training providers in matters related to quality management
• to develop the evaluation of education and ECEC
• to attend to any other duties that are issued or given to it
FINEEC acts as an independent expert organisation in the evaluation of education and early childhood education and care (ECEC). We produce evaluation-based information to support decision-making in education policy as well as the development of education and ECEC.
FINEEC is an independent expert organisation. According to our operating principles, we carry out impactful, reliable, and independent evaluation activities. Our aim is that our evaluation results create impact and are used in making important societal decisions as well as decisions at the national and the local level.
FINEEC's evaluation information helps to understand the special features and strengths of our education system as well as the development areas that should be addressed. Our evaluation projects produce information and development recommendations on current topics related to education, the level of competence, the effects of educational reforms and the state of quality management in education. Our activities increase the competence needed in the development of education and training and related decision-making.
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FINEEC´s evaluation plan guides the evaluation activities. Our plan has been made for four years at a time and is drawn up by the Education Evaluation Council. The Education Evaluation Plan for 2024-2027 builds on three strategic objectives:
• Raising the competence and education levels
• Fostering social, ecological and economic sustainable development
• Continuous improvement of the quality of education and ECEC.
Supporting quality management
In addition to carrying out evaluations, FINEEC's task is to support education and training and early childhood education and care providers in matters related to evaluation and quality management. We support education and training providers in developing quality management by, for example, producing information on good quality management and development practices, supporting the utilisation of evaluation data, producing support materials, and providing training and guidance on quality management and evaluation.
Further information about quality management support is available here.
Values guiding our activities and the operation mode of enhancement-led evaluation
Our activities are guided by our three values: impactful, trustworthy and independent.
Impactful
Our assessments are enhancement-led, participatory, bold and transformative.
Trustworthy
We are proficient, experienced and competent forerunner in evaluation.
Independent
We carry out our assessments independently and impartially.
We also work interactively with our stakeholders. This is reflected, for example, in the participatory operating mode followed in our evaluations, enhancement-led evaluation. In enhancement-led evaluation, the organisation participating in the evaluation is actively involved from the very beginning. External experts with specific knowledge related to the evaluation target are also typically involved. Through its interactive and inclusive approach, the evaluation increases understanding of different actors’ perspectives and the theme to be evaluated.
An independent and unaffiliated authority
FINEEC is an independent authority operating as a separate unit of the Finnish National Agency for Education. It, thus, has the duties and decision-making powers of an independent authority, but the Finnish National Agency for Education produces some of our administrative and support services.
We work interactively with our stakeholders and actively consult with them. However, actors outside FINEEC cannot influence the methods, organisation, results, conclusions or development recommendations of the evaluations. In fact, the independence of the evaluations from the interests of other actors is one of leading principles, and an obligation to follow this principle has also been enshrined in the legislation concerning FINEEC. This is because only evaluations regarded as independent of the interests of external actors can be considered reliable and credible.
More information: A neutral evaluator (article collection)
Funding
The costs of evaluations in accordance with the national education evaluation plan are approximately EUR 5 million per year. In the state budget, the costs are covered with the funding for the operating expenses of the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre, the revenue from co-funded activities and the funding received from evaluation services subject to a fee, which is divided into performances under public law (Decree of the Ministry of Education and Culture 87/2020, section 3) and performances under private law.
Provisions on the duties and organisation of FINEEC are laid down in Act 1295/2013 and Government decree 1317/2013.
In addition, according to Act 582/2015, early childhood education and care became part of FINEEC’s evaluations, and according to Act 564/2016, FINEEC became a separate unit of the Finnish National Agency for Education.