The economic review of the cooperative bank's regions highlights positive factors for the future of Northern Ostrobothnia. They are already known, but have been overlooked. Now, in connection with the preparation of the provincial programme, it is a good time to raise the provincial profile and be genuinely satisfied with the successes. At least the following can be extracted from the recently published economic review. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the number of unemployed people per job vacancy is the third lowest in the whole country. The situation is the same in the whole of Northern Finland, which indicates a more positive economic development than in the rest of the country. On a long-term average, Northern Ostrobothnia is at the top of the country in terms of green transition investments, as well as in terms of population-related RDI investments. The Cooperative Bank's economic review predicts that GDP growth in Northern Ostrobothnia will be the second fastest. The region's positive future is covered by the continuous increase in the number of employees. Employment growth has been at the level of other major provinces. When construction, which is important to the county, begins to rise, employment returns to a positive path. Pirkanmaa has taken North Ostrobothnia's position as a region of growth. This is partly due to investments in support of the services sector and the development of an attractive living environment. The decisions made have created a positive spiral from which North Ostrobothnia can also learn. On the other hand, in times of global turmoil, North Ostrobothnia's logistical position as a gateway to the West also provides a good starting point for facing future challenges and continuing to grow. The extensive scenario work carried out in the spring creates a vision for 2050. The starting point of the thesis was to open the horizon of the future realistically. Although the cracks in the operating environment are becoming more pronounced, there were more opportunities than threats in the scenarios. In particular, the European Renaissance scenario provides a new perspective on current development, but also supports the strengths and cooperation openings of Northern Ostrobothnia. The ongoing preparation of the provincial programme provides a good opportunity to participate in building a positive future and to put into practice the opportunities that emerged in the scenarios. Keep your eyes up and work together! In Oulu on 16 June 2025, Mikko Väisänen, Head of Research and Development, will prepare the provincial programme for Northern Ostrobothnia 2026-2029 during the spring and autumn. The blogs written by experts from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia cover the preparation process and themes related to the programme.

Funding was requested for AKKE projects that focus on supporting regional RDI activities. Projects funded under this call should meet at least one of the following criteria: - the project supports research, development and innovation activities of SMEs and thus improves the innovation capacity of SMEs - the project strengthens the innovation ecosystem of the region - the project expands the number of parties involved in RDI activities The maximum amount available to fund projects received in the application round is EUR 448 000. The total number of project applications was 14 and the total amount requested was approximately EUR 950 000.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has granted the Kainuu Regional Council a special grant of EUR 160 000 for the development of the cultural activities of the municipalities of Kainuu and Northern Ostrobothnia. The project will be implemented during 2024-2025 in close cooperation with the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. KAIPO - Strengthening Networks of Culture in Kainuu and Northern Ostrobothnia project creates impact on the cultural activities of Kainuu and Northern Ostrobothnia counties and their municipalities. Neighbouring regions already have some cooperation in the field of arts and culture, which provides a good basis for the implementation of the project, as well as for the development of more extensive cooperation and know-how. As a result of the project, cooperation between counties, municipalities and cultural actors will be intensified and the conditions for more efficient use of resources will be strengthened. Cultural services create new operating models and content, and municipal cultural managers receive more support for their work. The municipalities of North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu are participating in Oulu 2026 Capital of Culture year. The project also creates conditions for the implementation of its high-quality content. Through the co-creation of the project, the aim is to strengthen the cultural communities and regions. Co-creation, which is done using the partnership table model, is central to the project's measures. The themes are selected on the basis of the municipalities' own needs. In addition to representatives of municipalities, key cultural actors related to the theme under discussion will be invited to the partnership tables. The first step of the project is to identify development needs through a survey. The results will be heard at a kick-off event on 12 February 2024. The Kainuu Regional Council is responsible for the implementation of the KAIPO project. You can follow the progress of the project on its own website:  https://kainuunliitto.fi/cooperation/projects/kaipo/ The Ministry of Education and Culture's special grants for municipal cultural activities promote the implementation of the objectives and tasks of the Act on Municipal Cultural Activities (166/2019). The project, which now spans two provinces, will build on the work carried out in Kainuu and Northern Ostrobothnia in previous provincial development tasks in 2022-2023. Further information: Kainuu Regional Council, Project Coordinator Joni Kinnunen, tel. +358 44 797 4254 or joni.kinnunen@kainuunliitto.fi Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, Cultural Specialist Auli Suorsa, tel. 050-386 8443 or auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi Previous regional development tasks: Culture-Kainuu https://kainuunliitto.fi/cooperation/projects/culture-kainuu/ Northern Ostrobothnia Cultural Society https://www.pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi/development/culture/cultural cell-project/ [caption id="attachment_42678" align="alignleft" width="523"] Photo: Kainuu Regional Council website[/caption]

Welcome to the North Ostrobothnia Skills Needs Survey. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment under the Finnish National Agency for Education have agreed on practical foresight cooperation. The aim is to examine the region's competence needs from the perspective of professional sectors. The region's perspective on the future of professional fields and skills shortages can be obtained by answering a national survey conducted by JOTPA. The Northern Ostrobothnia Cooperation Group on Education and Research has discussed the most important areas of the region that need answers. Other sectors can also be well addressed. When answering more than one field, you have to start the survey from the beginning. Main sectors in Northern Ostrobothnia: ICT Social Services and Health Care Metals Forests Construction Education Hospitality Survey can be found HERE. Please respond to the survey by Monday, 6 February 2023. Every answer is important. Thank you for your time! You can also submit a survey in your own networks. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the results are utilised in regional competence foresight work, as well as in the planning of education and learning content. Particular attention will be paid to the anticipated development of skills needs and the skills gaps identified in the survey. At national level, the results will be utilised, for example, in the preparation of JOTPA funding applications and in the anticipation of competence needs in the OPH Skills Foresight Forum, for example, in proposals for the development of the contents of qualifications. More information Mikko Väisänen 0503366524 mikko.vaisanen@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

With these words, Sanna Salmela, Head of Welfare Promotion in the North Ostrobothnia Welfare Area, opened a seminar on Cultural Impact on Health and Welfare held on 8 September. ‘The wellbeing region must integrate cultural wellbeing services as part of its own service production. On the other hand, effective cooperation with municipal cultural services is important, as both parties share goals and customers", said Marjo-Riitta Tervonen, Head of Inclusion and Connectivity at the North Ostrobothnia Welfare Area. In the city of Oulu, the coordinator of cultural services for the elderly, Heidi Jäärni, already operates at the interface between general cultural services and social and health services. Perhaps such common tasks will also be possible in the near future between municipalities and the wellbeing services county. Expanding job descriptions and hybrid professionalism, i.e. working with different target groups in new kinds of work environments, challenge not only artists, but also the education system. According to Taru Koivisto, who has argued about the work of musicians in the Finnish health care system, effectiveness will increase if artists are well prepared for their work already in their field of education. The content of the training should be developed. "Even if a person is seriously ill, they can still feel good" The concrete effects of art on the seminar audience were presented by dancer and neuroscientist Hanna Poikonen. She has studied the effects of creative movement, dance and music on the brain. The results show that they accelerate the regeneration of brain tissue and the repair of potential damage. They also reduce stress, prevent memory problems, strengthen balance and imagination. Above all, dance and music bring pleasure. “Even if you are seriously ill, you can still feel good about yourself. Through culture and art, we can strengthen this very aspect of experientialism in ourselves. Everyone should find their own path to well-being. Art and culture provide pathways to it", said Hanna Poikonen in her speech. Dance and music can bring direct relief to many diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. You can also participate in the Parkinson's ballet groups in the Oulu region and they have been popular. At the cultural well-being market organised at the end of the seminar day, the audience got to know, among other things, the activities of the Mielenliike- Dance and Movement Therapy service led by Jessica Viitala. The market square had a large number of operators presenting their products and services related to cultural well-being. The seminar on cultural impact on well-being and health was organised in cooperation by the North Ostrobothnia Welfare Region and its Future Health and Social Services Centre project and the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia and its Cultural Cell project. Nearly 200 participants attended the event on-site and via streaming. the Seminar …

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has invented and documented the cultural heritage of hydropower in a three-year project. A selection of fine power plant sites is the Finnish Architecture Navigator, an online service for Finnish architecture published on the anniversary of the birth of architect Aarne Ervi. The Oulujoki river basin power plant complex was one of the most important construction projects in Finland during the reconstruction period. After the Second World War, sixteen hydropower plants were built in Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu, which were at the top of their time in terms of both technology and architecture. These sites have been studied in the three-year EU-funded Hydropower Cultural Heritage (Veku Vaku) project led by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. A selection of hydropower projects has now been published in the Finnish Architecture Navigator, an online service for Finnish architecture maintained by Archinfo Finland. Read the press release on the ArcInfo page! See the locations in Finnish Architecture Navigator! Read more about the Veku Vaku project! Further information: Kirsti Reskalenko Regional Architect Tel. +358 40 685 4030 Pictured is Pyhäkoski power plant, photographer Pekka Elomaa

The appropriation for supporting the sustainable growth and vitality of the regions (AKKE) will be used, in accordance with the decisions of the regional councils, for projects promoting the implementation of the regional programme and the Government's regional development decision. This appropriation may be used, for example, for small-scale development, experimentation and study projects based on regional strengths and specialisation. The fourth application round for AKKE (Regional Fund for Sustainable Growth and Vitality) is open from 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022. Read more here !

16.9.2021 on päätetty rahoittaa kaksi uutta AKKE-hanketta: Syötteen matkailualueen Master Pian ja investointisuunnitelma Pudasjärven kehitys Oy 35 000 € Pohjoispohjanmaalaisen kirjallisuuden vientiä edistävän Black Hole -verkoston luominen Oulun kirjailijaseura ry 55 000 € Lisäksi rahoitettiin teemaverkosto ja kehittämisvyöhykkeiden erillismäärärahasta seuraavat hankkeet: Hyvinvointi- ja terveysdatan kansallinen innovaatioekosysteemi Oulun yliopisto 500 000 € Kansallinen vetyverkosto Raahen kaupunki 320 000 € Perämerenkaaren kehittämisvyöhyke Oulun kaupunki 300 000 € Lisätietoja : Kehitysjohtaja Tiina Rajala p. 040 685 4033 Aluekehityspäällikkö Heikki Ojala p. 050 433 3951

Maakunnan teollisuus on jatkanut vahvaa kasvuaan vuonna 2021. Luova talous on odotuksista poiketen myös hyvässä tilanteessa. Tämä johtuu siitä, että klusteri on tiiviisti sidoksissa korkean teknologian toimialoihin ja rakentamiseen maakunnassa. Vuoteen 2019 verrattuna matkailu on edelleen täysin eri tasolla, vaikka liikevaihto ja henkilöstömäärä ovatkin lähteneet reippaaseen kasvuun. Vienti on elpymässä, vaikka kehitys onkin vaihdellut eri kuukausina. Kaikkiaan suhdannenäkymät ovat niin positiivisia, että mikäli kasvu jatkuu näin laajalla rintamalla, työvoiman riittävyys joutuu todella koetukselle. Julkaisun voit ladata linkistä: https://www.pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Suhdannetiedot_toukokuulle_2021.pdf Kaikki suhdannejulkaisut ja uusimmat suhdanteet kuvioina löytyvät löytyvät: https://www.pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi/kehittaminen/ennakointi-ja-tilastotieto/suhdanne/

Pohjois-Pohjanmaan ilmastotyön kolmesta kärkiteemasta maatalous, turpeen energiakäyttö ja liikenne on laadittu kattavat selvitykset maakunnan ilmastotiekartan askelmerkkien asettamiseen. Tuhtia tietoa ja eri skenaariovaihtoehtoja sisältävien selvitysten mukaan Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla on merkittäviä ilmastopäästöjen vähennyspotentiaalia. Maataloudessa tavoitteena edelleen kehittyä hiilensitojana. Tehty selvitys sisältää numeerista tietoa maatalouden biojakeiden ja sivuvirtojen kestävästä hyödyntämisestä, toimenpiteiden ilmastovaikutuksista, kustannus- ja tuottovaikutuksista sekä potentiaalista Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla. Vaihtoehtoisia päästöskenaarioita tehtiin kolme kappaletta. Selvityksen laati Ramboll Finland Oy. Liikenteen selvitys ja siinä tehdyt laskelmat mahdollistavat ensirekisteröityjen ajoneuvojen käyttövoimajakauman vaikutusten arvioinnin tieliikenteen hiilidioksidipäästöihin vuoteen 2040 asti. Selvityksen laati Sitowise Oy. Turpeen energiakäytön selvityksessä tarkastellaan miten alueen turpeen ja puun energiakäyttö tulee kehittymään, millaisia vaikutuksia kehityksellä on puubiomassan hankintaan ja hankintaketjuihin, sekä  alueen energiantuotannon kasvihuonekaasupäästöihin. Selvityksen laati AFRY Management Consulting. Selvityksiä ja niistä saatuja tuloksia käytettään Pohjois-Pohjanmaan ilmastotiekartan laatimisessa. Työ valmistuu alkuvuodesta ja tiekartta on maakuntahallituksen hyväksyttävänä helmikuun 2021 kokouksessa. Selvitykset ovat ladattavissa POPilmasto -hankkeen verkkosivuilta. Lisätietoja: Projektipäällikkö Ritva Isomäki p. 040 685 4026, ritva.isomaki(at)pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi