Press releases

The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group heard the presentation of the Northern Finland Vitality Centre and the topical cooperation group of the Northern Ostrobothnia Region on EU rural funding met on Thursday 28 May 2026 at the premises of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. The meeting included a presentation of the Northern Finland Centre for Vitality, which started operations at the beginning of the year, and a topical review of EU rural funding. In addition, a topical project presentation was heard on the joint project of the Jokilaaksot Educational Consortium and the cities of Kalajoki, Ylivieska, Nivala and Haapavesi. The meeting also decided on the meeting schedule for autumn 2026. The regional cooperation group gave its positive opinion on two JTF-funded projects. The new Ovi Työhön project (Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation sr, Joint Municipal Authority for Education Brahe) aims to help jobseekers in the region in cooperation in cooperation with various concrete, coaching and educational means and to serve employers in the region in meeting different labour market needs. The project has four main objectives:…

The Regional Assembly of Oulu Region met in Oulu for its spring meeting. The meeting discussed, among other things, the financial statements of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, the report of the Board of Directors and the evaluation report of the Audit Committee. The Regional Assembly was briefed on the state of play of the preparation of the national and regional partnership plan for the new EU programming period 2028-2034. In addition, it was decided to accept from the Regional Assembly of Lapland the authority task and related competence for the follow-up of national counterpart funding for the Interreg Aurora, Interreg Europe and Interreg NPA programmes to a limited extent. The Regional Assembly approved the financial statements of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region for 2025 and discharged those responsible from liability. The result for 2025 was a surplus of approximately EUR 41,000. The realised operating costs in 2025 amounted to EUR 5 333 958. The biggest item of expenditure was personnel costs, which amounted to approximately EUR 3.4 million, and were below the budget by just under EUR 83 000. Another large item of expenditure was purchases of services 1.2 million…

The Centre for Vitality in Northern Finland continues to apply for the ERDF programme in Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland. The call for applications will be open on 31.12.2026, whereas it was previously announced that it would end on 12.6.2026. The Northern Ostrobothnia job application period is open from 31 August to 23 October 2026. An amount of EUR 1.3 million is available for projects implementing specific objectives 1.1 and 2.3. The ESF project application period for the specific objective 4.2 of the Northern Finland Centre for Vitality opens for 5.6. - 15.9.2026. The fourth, Environment ERDF project application is underway on 18 May. - 21.9.2026. The Growth Runway call for companies in Northern Ostrobothnia, which was open from 30 March to 8 May 2026, received 11 applications. A total of EUR 357 039 was requested for funding. The Secretariat of the regional Cooperation Group supported two projects for funding The Secretariat of the regional Cooperation Group discussed three projects at its meeting. Assent …

The Regional Board of Northern Ostrobothnia met on Monday 11 May in Oulu. The personnel and training plan was approved by the the Board of the Regional Assembly for 2026. The need to develop age management has been identified in the personnel plan. The average age of the personnel is 53.8 years, which is higher than the average age of the municipal sector (46.2 years). In the coming years, there may be a need for adjustments to work tasks or flexible working hours. Fulfillment of vacant posts will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the future, the number of staff will have stabilised at 35-40. The contents of the training plan are partly based on the strategy of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, but it also includes several training needs identified by the personnel. Participating in the joint procurement of financial and human resources management Monetra Oy is launching conditional joint procurement for its financial and human resources management customers, if the Parliament approves the planned amendment to the Act on Public Contracts. Change would cause a 10% ownership requirement in house…

Hanna Honkamäkilä gave an update on the current state of preparation of the new programming period 2028-2034, such as the preparation of the partnership plan, regional events and an event for regional cooperation groups on 4 June 2026. The EU's EAFRD search results Tiina Suutari told that 10 applications for support amounting to approximately EUR 1.3 million were received in the closed application process for business support. 123 applications were received for the farm support investment application, in which a total of approximately EUR 10 million was applied for support. The renewed and competent application results, reports and deadlines of the Finland 2021-2027 programme were received by 22 applications for support of EUR 6 386 990 in the Northern Finland ESF+ project call (Specific Objective 4.1) that ended on 26 March 2026 at the Northern Finland Vitality Centre. In addition, one application per region for Northern Ostrobothnia was received and a grant of EUR 570 753 was applied for. In the 11 project applications of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region in the period…

The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group supported the financing of two projects The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group met on Thursday 9 April 2026 at the premises of the Regional Assembly of Northern Ostrobothnia. The meeting discussed topical regional development themes, such as the preparation of the new programming period 2028-2034, the update of the implementation plan for security of supply and comprehensive security, and the ESF+ and JTF funding situation. In addition, the Young Friends Regional Assembly's current project presentation was heard at the meeting. The regional Cooperation Group gave its opinion on four ESF+-funded projects, two of which were in favour of funding. The project, implemented by the Youth Friends Regional Assembly, is partly implemented by the cities of Kalajoki, Ylivieska and Nivala. The aim of the project is to develop employment services in the region, in particular to support the employment of the long-term unemployed and people in a weak position in the labour market. The project develops individual and group-based career coaching, strengthens job-seekers' job-search and digital skills…

The Regional Government of Northern Ostrobothnia met in Oulu on Monday 13 April and received an update on the preparation of the EU programme period 2028-2034, the monitoring of the transport system plan, the state of preparation of the main railway vision and the national traffic system plan, as well as the international affairs of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Capturing and transhipping live Atlantic salmon and trout in Iijoki in 2026 The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has tendered out the Capturing and transhipping live Atlantic salmon and trout in Iijoki in 2026 as part of the Lohi Iijoki 2 project. The task is to procure live, fit and fertile Atlantic salmon and trout from the lower part of the Iijoki River and the terminal area, as well as the transshipment of fish to the Iijoki River and its tributaries during May-October 2026. Decided to implement the measure by Korpilaavu Oy. Proposals to become members of the expert bank of the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency has requested candidates for the expert bank, which will replace the current state …

The Secretariat of the Provincial Cooperation Group was informed about the updating of the implementation plan for security of supply and comprehensive security. The plan will be updated with the most significant changes in the operating environment and industries during the past two years. The Centre for Vitality in Northern Finland opens a temporary call for applications for ERDF funding - Runway I for Growth for SMEs in Northern Ostrobothnia. The application period is open 30.3-8.5.2026 and a total of EUR 0.4 million can be applied for. Safe Finland searches (TL 8 and 9) can be opened in April. Four applications were received for the Centre's continuous JTF application period 2.2. - 11.3.2026. They applied for EUR 801 287. The Secretariat of the Provincial Cooperation Group supported eight projects to be funded under the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme…

The Regional Government of Northern Ostrobothnia met on Monday 16 March to discuss, among other things, the financial statements and internal control reports. The Provincial Government also appointed the persons to the Advisory Board for Organisations, the Cooperation Group for Education and Research and the Advisory Board for Climate Work. The Provincial Government approved the financial statements and the report of the Board of Directors for its part for the financial year 2025 and decided to refer them to the Audit Board and the Provincial Council after the audit. The financial statements of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for 2025 show a surplus of EUR 41 079.80. In December 2025, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia approved the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's strategy for 2025-2029. Working groups in accordance with the strategy, such as the Advisory Board for Climate Work, the Cooperation Group for Education and Research and the Advisory Board for Organisations, were appointed by the Provincial Government for the current council term. … was appointed as the representative of the network of small municipalities in the Advisory Board for Climate Work

The Regional Government of Northern Ostrobothnia met on Monday 23 February in Oulu. The update of the maritime spatial plan is progressing The update of the maritime spatial plan was launched in all eight coastal regional federations in early 2024. Changes in the marine operating environment, such as the renewal of EU regulations, ambitious national production targets set for marine energy production, and the emphasis on the importance of shipping and marine food production for security of supply, are the reasons behind the start of the update work. The Regional Council of Southwest Finland is responsible for the joint coordination of maritime spatial planning. During the spring of 2026, a draft plan will be prepared, which will be submitted to the provincial governments of the coast for consideration and consultation. Based on the feedback, a maritime spatial plan will be drawn up, which will be approved by the provincial councils in 2027. The Provincial Government abolished the post of Head of Human Resources and amended the duty of the Head of Administration Toni Saranpää to include the duties of the Head of Administration in the duties of the Head of Human Resources. Open positions in the assessment of the job description and the need for a vacancy certificate…