Client: Cancer Society of Finland
Implementation period: 2024–2025
The starting point for the Cancer Society’s strategy work was to clarify clear and shared goals and priorities for the organization. These needed to respond to changes in the operating environment and focus efforts on areas where the greatest impact could be achieved. The new strategy also had to be aligned with the upcoming national cancer strategy.
“Preparing our own strategy alongside the national cancer strategy was a good thing, because the parallel processes helped us clarify our role in the overall picture,” says Juha Pekka Turunen, Secretary General of the Cancer Society of Finland.
No change without participation and understanding the operating environment
Changes in the operating environment—and currently in particular the cuts in funding—challenge organizations to consider what activities they should focus on and how they can demonstrate the impact and results of their work. At the same time, these changes guide organizations to review how their activities are organized and what kind of cooperation is carried out with other organizations, the public sector, or businesses.
“Now, about a year after starting the strategy work, we can see how quickly the operating environment can change, even in just one year. The more variables there are in the environment, the more important it is to have a clear strategy,“ Turunen explains.
To support strategic choices, we mapped the Cancer Society’s operating environment and anticipated its changes using research literature, staff and stakeholder surveys, stakeholder interviews, and scenario work. In the analysis, we not only looked at the overall trends affecting the NGO sector and society at large, but also examined the future outlook from the perspectives of cancer patients and their families, cancer care and support, research, and prevention as cancer cases increase.
The analysis provided a solid foundation for the work of the strategy team established to prepare the strategy. The team broadly represented the various roles and responsibilities within the Cancer Society and worked with commitment throughout the preparation process.
“The most important aspect during strategy development was broad and shared discussion, because our organization consists of many associations and there are numerous themes and perspectives to consider,” describes Heidi Löflund-Kuusela, Head of Health Promotion at the Cancer Society of Finland.
The new strategy is built on impact
From the very beginning, the strategy work emphasized what results and change the Cancer Society aims to achieve with its work. When the intended impact is clearly defined, it is easier for everyone to see the significance of their own contribution toward achieving the goals.
“What I find especially good in the new strategy is that it clearly defines the impact and results we are striving for in our work, and what our efforts will produce if successful,” says Heidi Löflund-Kuusela.
According to Juha Pekka Turunen and Heidi Löflund-Kuusela, the new strategy has been well received within the Cancer Society. Work is now focused on planning operations based on the strategy. Although the practical implementation of the new strategy is still in its early stages, Löflund-Kuusela notes with delight that even early in the autumn, its guiding influence could already be seen.
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