A Record Year Amid Change
The year 2025 was a period of growth and development for Findata. We reached record levels both in the number of applications received and in the number of decisions issued. At the same time, we continued to develop our operations in response to national reforms and EU-level requirements.
Shorter processing times despite record volumes
Despite increased demand, we succeeded in reducing application processing times. This was the result of determined and systematic development of our processes. In particular, the introductory meeting with applicants, introduced during the year, helped streamline procedures, reduce misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation with applicants.
Work on data resources continued in close collaboration with data controllers. The decision of the wellbeing services county of Eastern Uusimaa to transfer their permit rights to Findata further strengthened our role as the national data permit authority.
The year did not pass without challenges. Irregularities in register data and an increase in changes to personal identity codes required particular care in data processing. Nevertheless, we succeeded in maintaining service continuity and handling a record number of data requests and data deliveries.
Preparing for a new regulatory framework
From a regulatory perspective, 2025 was a significant year of reform. We actively contributed to the revision of the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data and research legislation, while preparing in close cooperation with our partners for the implementation of the EU-level European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS). Close collaboration between the data permit authority, data controllers, the Ministry and applicants is essential to ensure that the changes are implemented in a controlled manner and in a way that supports research and the secure use of data.
At Findata, preparations for the EHDS Regulation progressed particularly through the FinHITS project. During the year, we introduced the Portti tool to streamline the verification of result anonymity, as well as the Supertunneli data transfer service implemented as an S3 interface solution. The new e-service advanced to the testing phase and will, in the future, enable even more efficient and user-friendly services.
We also strengthened our advisory services through new service channels, including the AI-based Vinkkeli chatbot on our website and a learning portal, in order to meet the needs of an increasingly international client base.
Looking ahead: higher-quality services and closer cooperation
In 2026, we will ensure that our customers receive even higher-quality services in a changing legislative environment. We will achieve this through thorough preparation and the continuous development of our processes.
International cooperation will also remain active. Collaboration with Nordic partners in the VALO2 project and the exchange of expertise with the Luxembourg Ministry for Digitalisation support our preparedness for EU regulation. In addition, our role in the European Commission’s HDAB Community of Practice network will strengthen, as we will chair two sub-groups. In this way, we further reinforce our role in building the infrastructure of the European Health Data Space.
Mervi Siltanen, Acting Director
2025 in figures
Compared to last year, the number of applications increased by 17 per cent and the number of decisions increased by 8 per cent.
37 % data permit applications
6 % data requests
In 2024, we received 316 applications
6% lapsed
In 2024, we made 340 decisions
Processing times and customer satisfaction
In 2025, the majority (85%) of data permit applications were processed in under three months. On average, data permit applications spent about one quarter of their processing time with Findata. For the remainder of the time, the applications were pending additional information from the applicant or data controllers.
The fastest decision was made in two days, and the median processing time decreased to 49 days – a reduction of almost 40 per cent compared with 82 days in 2024.
Most applications for amendment permits were processed quickly, with a median processing time of six days.
The average customer feedback score collected after application processing increased to 4.4 on a scale of 1–5 (n = 72), compared with 4.2 the previous year. The median score was 5. The highest ratings were given for expertise (4.5) and friendliness (4.6), while processing speed (4.0) received the lowest score.
Decisions by type of permit
We issued 119 positive data permit decisions, which is a bit over 5 per cent more than in 2024.
The number of amendment permits also continued to increase: in total, we issued 200 positive amendment decisions, representing an increase of approximately 9 per cent compared with the previous year.
By contrast, the trend in data requests was downward. During the year, we issued 15 positive data request decisions, which is seven fewer than in 2024.
The proportion of decisions that lapsed remained unchanged from last year, at 6 per cent.
Purpose of use of the permits and data requests granted
As in previous years, the vast majority (94%) of permits were granted for scientific research.
Only a few decisions were made for other purposes, as in previous years, with the largest share related to statistics (4 %).
No data permit or data request decisions were made for knowledge management, education or steering and supervision of social and health care by authorities.
See all the permits granted by us and the permit holders here: Issued permits
Applications and applicants
In 2025, we received a total of 370 applications, which is 17 per cent more than in 2024.
The number of both data permit applications and amendment applications increased: the number of data permit applications rose by 24 per cent (a total of 134 applications), and amendment applications increased by 15 per cent (a total of 212 applications). A total of 24 new data requests were submitted, the same number as in the previous year.
There were also some changes in the backgrounds of applicants. The share of applicants from the private sector continued to decline compared with last year.
The public sector accounted for 74 per cent of applications submitted last year, while the private sector made up 18 per cent. In 2024, the corresponding figures were 67 per cent and 26 per cent.
The ‘others’ category mainly comprises customers from the third sector and those who have requested data as private individuals.
We categorise the background of the applicants according to the main applicant. Some of the permits have been granted to projects or consortia that involve not only the main applicant but also other sectors.
Most requested controllers and organisations
We issued data permit and data request decisions covering data from 45 different data controllers. On average, one decision concerned data from four data controllers.
Continuing the trend from previous years, in 2025 the demand was greatest for national registers. In 68 per cent of applications, data was requested from the registers of the three most sought-after data controllers – Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela and/or Statistics Finland.
The next most requested datasets came from HUS, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa.
| Popularity | Data controller | Number of decisions 2023 | Number of decisions 2024 | Number of decisions 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) | 106 | 117 | 105 |
| 2. | The Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela | 78 | 87 | 83 |
| 3. | Statistics Finland | 73 | 73 | 60 |
| 4. | HUS | 21 | 39 | 36 |
| 5. | Digital and Population Information Agency (DVV) | 35 | 35 | 27 |
| 6. | The Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa | 15 | 25 | 26 |
| 7. | The Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland | 20 | 34 | 23 |
| 8. | Cancer Society of Finland | 26 | 27 | 21 |
| 9. | The Wellbeing Services County of North Savo | 11 | 19 | 18 |
| 10. | Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) | 20 | 21 | 17 |
Data extraction requests and data packages
13 requests/week
14 sets/week
The number of datasets continued to grow compared with the previous year, and the number of data packages delivered to customers increased by 48 per cent. Growth was also seen in the number of data requests sent to data controllers and in the datasets we received from them.
We introduced a new Supertunneli transfer service at the end of the year. Built on the S3 interface, Supertunneli will enable large transfers to be completed in a single operation, resolving previous capacity issues and reducing both process steps and error risks.
Smaller transfers continue to be handled using the updated browser-based transfer service Tunneli.
Datasets still do not fully match the permitted datasets, leading to corrective extractions and re-deliveries. In 2025, there were a total of 106 extraction errors. Resolving these issues generates costs and delays for data permit holders, data controllers, and Findata.
The most common problems were incomplete datasets and errors in target population selection.
Collaboration to reduce extraction errors and manage costs continued during the year with 11 data controllers. This cooperation has made resolving errors smoother, but there remains a need to focus on preventing errors at the source.
Throughout the year, we continued to support data descriptions by offering training to data controllers and further developing the Data Resource Editor and Data Resources Catalogue (Aineistokatalogi).
Compliance with deadlines
Data controllers submitted extraction and cost estimates within the 15-day deadline stipulated by the Secondary Use Act in an average of 59 per cent of applications. There was a 28 percentage point difference between national and regional data controllers.
Datasets were delivered to Findata within the 30-day deadline in an average of 80 per cent of cases. In this respect, the difference between national and local data controllers was smaller, at approximately 7 percentage points.
Findata was able to deliver the data sets to the permit holders within the deadline in 77 per cent of cases.
GDPR requests
In 2025, we received considerably fewer requests from data subjects under the EU General Data Protection Regulation than in 2024.
However, requests continued to arrive at a steady pace, a few per week, and the processing procedure was updated to meet the increased demand.
During 2025, we received a total of 181 requests to object to data processing and 80 requests to access personal data.
Read more: Your data rights
Kapseli® processing environment
The number of Kapseli processing environments increased by 10 per cent and the number of users by 7 per cent.
The number of Findata’s secure Kapseli environments continued to grow, both in terms of individual environments and registered users.
At the end of 2025, there were 162 active Kapseli environments with a total of 937 registered users, with growth particularly seen in the more powerful XL machine packages.
In addition, 7 environments were on a pause and there were 13 data storage service customers.
Verification of result anonymity
The volume of anonymisation verifications of published results continued to grow. In 2025, we verified the anonymity of results from Kapseli a total of 1,322 times, compared with 1,061 verifications in 2024.
Results published from other environments were anonymised 256 times, up from 140 times in 2024.
On average, we conducted a total of 30 verifications per week. In 86 per cent of the checks, the results were acceptable as submitted. In 14 per cent of cases, issues were noted in the content of the results, an improvement compared with 20 per cent the previous year. The most common issue was the presentation of small frequency data.
In September 2025, we introduced a new Portti tool in Kapseli, replacing the previous summary forms. Portti has enhanced data security and streamlined the anonymisation process for both customers and Findata. By the end of the year, results had been sent for verification through it 598 times.
Distribution of costs
A total of approximately EUR 2.0 million was paid for the secondary use of social and health data through Findata in 2024.
Data processing EUR 455,000
+ EUR 65,000 (+11%) compared to 2024
+ EUR 273,000 (-17 %) compared to 2024
The figure includes Findata’s decision fees for new data permits, amendment permits and data requests, Findata’s data processing fees and extraction costs charged to customers by data controllers.
On average, 33 per cent of the total fees collected from customers consisted of Findata’s decision and data processing fees. Correspondingly, 67 per cent of a customer’s invoice typically consisted of extraction costs charged by data controllers.
Findata’s decision and data processing fees and data controller’s extraction costs in 2023–2025
The total amount collected from Findata’s permit fees decreased, even though more decisions were issued than ever before. The decrease is explained by permits granted for researcher-driven studies, for which the fee is 50% lower than for standard permits and decisions.
Processing costs arise from combining datasets gathered from data controllers, as well as from pseudonymising or anonymising the data and delivering it to a secure processing environment.
Findata’s customers paid a total of €541,000 for Kapseli usage, €90,000 (+20%) more than in 2024. This increase is largely due to the growth in both the number of users and the use of more powerful machine packages.
FinHITS – Strengthening Finnish Health Data ICT for Secondary Use
In the FinHITS project co-funded by the European Union, new services were launched and active stakeholder collaboration continued
In 2025, we took a significant step towards an EHDS-compliant secondary use infrastructure as part of the FinHITS project.
During the year, we defined the requirements and prototypes for the new e-service, conducted a testing round, and utilised the feedback received to support further development. The Dataset Resource Catalogue was revised based on user feedback and EHDS requirements. New features launched at the end of the year will strengthen the national and international discoverability of datasets.
We launched entirely new services: the Supertunneli transfer service for the secure transfer of large datasets, and the Portti tool to support more efficient verification of result anonymisation. In addition, we developed our advisory services. New Data Assistant tool supports dataset discovery and Vinkkeli chatbot guides users to the right information on our website. We published a learning portal and its first learning package, focusing on the Finnish health care system and registers. This accessible introduction generated particular interest among international applicants, and the site quickly attracted nearly 2,000 visitors.
Stakeholder collaboration remains at the core of the FinHITS project. Over the year, we organised four FinHITS Forums, showcasing progress in development and engaging in dialogue with users. The feedback received has been a key support in shaping and improving our services.
We organised the Nordic Health Data Summit together with the VALO project, Sitra and the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The event brought together health data experts, researchers and decision-makers from across the Nordic countries and Europe to discuss how we can together build an efficient, secure and well-functioning EHDS infrastructure.
Keep updated on the FinHITS project
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Communication and stakeholders
In 2025, we further developed our advisory services and clarified customer journeys to improve the customer experience and the accessibility of information.
Findata’s communication focus in 2025 was on strengthening advisory services and ensuring that information is easier to find.
We renewed our customer communications to make them clearer and more consistent across the different stages of the application process. In addition to streamlining written guidance, we published videos to illustrate complex processes and Findata’s operations in a more accessible way.
Customer feedback for the personal consultation service also remained very positive, in line with previous years. The service achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 100, and the average rating on a scale of 0–10 was 9.8 (n = 57). Open-ended responses highlighted expert and practical advice, new ideas, and concrete support for advancing projects.
During the year, we continued the regular publication of decision information on our website and monthly highlights of permitted projects on LinkedIn. We also began publishing information on research studies that have utilised register data authorised by Findata. The publication list is updated on an ongoing basis as permit holders report their publications.
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Highlights of 2025
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