Medical helicopter service remains the most reputable in the public sector – study highlights the importance of safety

The medical helicopter service FinnHEMS is Finland’s most reputable public sector organization, according to the Public Sector Reputation&Trust survey conducted by Reputation and Trust Analytics. Of the organizations surveyed, the Ministry of Defense saw the greatest improvement in its reputation.

The reputation of public sector organizations was surveyed in October–November 2025, and a total of 10,727 Finns responded to the survey. The reputation score for the FinnHEMS medical helicopter service, which was rated as having the best reputation, rose from 3.87 last year to 4.01 this year—an excellent rating on a five-point scale of 1–5.

The Ministry of Defense saw the biggest improvement in its reputation, with its reputation score rising from 3.49 last year to 3.70 this year.

All of the organizations ranked in the top ten have a good or excellent reputation.

“Nearly all of the organizations in the top ten are engaged in work that strengthens security in our country, either in national defense or in health and rescue services. Notably, the Ministry of Defense saw a 0.21-point increase in its reputation, which was the largest improvement in the entire study. Security and national defense are clearly important themes for us Finns right now,” says Harri Leinikka, CEO of Reputation and Trust Analytics.

The study also tracks the development of public trust through the average score of the 25 most well-known public sector organizations. The level of trust these organizations have earned has remained exactly the same as last year, at 3.50.

“Alongside the rankings of individual organizations, it is essential that the level of trust in the broader group of organizations has remained high despite budget cuts. It is not enough for organizations critical to internal security to enjoy a high level of trust. For the functioning of democracy and society, it is extremely important that trust in public administration remains at a high level across the board, as otherwise hybrid actors can exploit discord and division in our society,” Leinikka continues.

The importance of interaction has risen to an all-time high

The regression analysis from the " Reputation&Trust " study on public administration shows that the "products and services" dimension is the factor that most influences stakeholder support for public administration organizations.

“This, too, ties into the expectation that public sector organizations should be effective. Citizens also expect these organizations to operate cost-effectively,” says Nina Laakso, Senior Advisor at Reputation and Trust Analytics.

The "Products and Services" dimension has been the most influential factor in the reputation of public sector organizations throughout the entire history of the survey, dating back to 2018, and it has shown an upward trend since 2021.

This year, the impact of the interaction component has increased significantly.

“It is of the utmost importance that public sector organizations and their senior leadership engage with citizens: communicating openly and clearly about their activities—and listening to and understanding citizens. The same applies here as to interactions between individuals: the better we know organizations, the more we trust them, and better interaction also strengthens their reputation,” says Nina Laakso.

“The call for interaction is linked to our desire for security, as reflected in the survey results. Finns want to be told clearly and credibly that we, our society, and our national defense are being taken care of,” Laakso notes.

This is how we conducted the study

The aim of the Public Administration Reputation&Trust survey was to assess the reputation of key public administration organizations among the general public. Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire between October 1 and November 2, 2025.

Organizations were evaluated using Reputation and Trust Analytics’ Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different sub-areas. These areas are corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and responsibility. The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

A total of 10,727 Finns participated in the study. The study’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample was weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.

The margin of error for the entire dataset is at most approximately 0.95 percentage points in either direction.

For more information:

Harri Leinikka, CEO of Reputation and Trust Analytics, 040 505 5001, harri.leinikka@reptrust.com

Nina Laakso, Reputation and Trust Analytics, Senior Advisor, 0400 808 940, nina.laakso@reptrust.com

Photo: FinnHEMS