A Master's thesis was carried out at the University of Lapland in conjunction with the Equal Oulu2026 project. The topic of Päivi Soini's thesis is Action Research on Improving Attitudinal Accessibility of Culture through Service Design and it was published in spring 2024. 

Summary of the thesis

The starting point of my research is the recent debate surrounding the significance and costs of art and culture, which indicates that not everyone perceives these topics as meaningful. Furthermore, cultural consumption in Finland seems to be limited to a select group of individuals. The aim of the study is to lower the threshold for participation in cultural services and influence the attitudes underlying cultural non-participation, thus ensuring that the welfare effects of art and culture are divided more widely among people.

The research is a qualitative action research utilizing the service design process and methods — probe study and workshop. The data collected through the probe study was analyzed thematically using content analysis, and from the probe materials I derived persona tools for a co-creation workshop aimed at cultural actors. The goal of the workshop was to reflect on attitudinal accessibility and ideate ways to make cultural services more approachable for culturally passive target group.

The study revealed that participatory measures often reach individuals who are already active, and that "culturally passive" individuals are a diverse group. It became evident during the study that "passivity" is partly a “methodological construct” in this context. Furthermore, the research showed that achieving the goals of my work are complicated by broader societal challenges. Additionally, the study demonstrated that service design methods can offer enriching approaches in to researching cultural passivity.

My research highlighted the importance of considering individuals attitudes and experiences in improving the accessibility of cultural services, particularly given the influence of socio-economic factors and institutional weight.