The Church and the Ministry of the Interior are the public sector’s biggest gainers in reputation

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Ministry of the Interior saw the greatest improvement in their reputations in the 2023 “ Reputation&Trust ” survey of public administration conducted by T-Media. The Emergency Response Center Agency and the Border Guard share the top spot as the organizations with the best reputations.

The reputation of public sector organizations was surveyed in October–November 2023, with a total of 9,932 Finns responding to the survey. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Ministry of the Interior managed to boost their reputation among the public by a significant 0.30 points.

**Reputation&Trust 2023 Survey of Public Administration: Top Climbers for 2022–2023 by Reputation Category**. The study included 79 organizations, which were evaluated using T-Media’s “ Reputation&Trust ” research model. An organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories: administration, finances, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and corporate responsibility.

The Church’s reputation score (3.39) is now at a moderate level. The Ministry of the Interior is also rated at a moderate level (3.20), whereas last year the ministry’s score (2.90) was at a low level.

Reputation&Trust-In this assessment, each organization is assigned a reputation score on a scale of 1 to 5. A “moderate” reputation level begins at a score of 3.00.

Archbishop Tapio Luoma of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland believes that the long-term effort to strengthen the church’s strategic message in the public sphere has had a positive impact on the survey results:

“We have placed a strong emphasis on issues related to human dignity and social exclusion, and we have sought to demonstrate that the Church has the ability to stand by people even when they face difficult times in life.”

“In these times of global political tension, people are turning to organizations that offer security. Both organizations—the Ministry of the Interior and the Church—which have significantly enhanced their reputations, maintain a sense of security in our society—each in their own way,” says Riku Ruokolahti, Development Director at T-Media.

“The new Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen, has been effective in her communications, and this is reflected in the Ministry of the Interior’s results. The Church, for its part, has successfully adopted a more personal approach to communication. As an organization, the Church is able to respond to the need for spiritual security,” Ruokolahti continues.

This is how we conducted the study

The Reputation&Trust The goal of the 2023 Public Administration Survey was to assess the level of trust and reputation of key public administration organizations among citizens. Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire from October 3 to November 1, 2023.

The survey has been conducted annually by T-Media since 2018. This year, 9,932 Finns participated in the survey. The survey targeted Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample has been weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.

The organizations were evaluated using T-Media’s “ Reputation&Trust ” research model, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different subcategories. These areas are corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and corporate responsibility. The survey used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

The Most Prestigious Organizations in the 2023 “ Reputation&Trust ” Survey of Public Administration, Rankings 1–10. First place is shared by the Emergency Response Center Agency and the Border Guard, and tenth place is shared by VTT and Tukes. *When evaluating emergency response services, respondents were asked to assess the emergency response agency in their own region.