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The first application period for the sixth application round of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia 2021-2027 has closed on 13 October 2023. By the deadline for the first application period, 30 applications were received by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The applications sought funding from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia totalling approximately EUR 9.9 million. The decisions on applications for positive follow-up will be received in December 2023. The second application period for the sixth round of ERDF projects will run until 31 December 2023. However, the extension of the application round until 16 February 2024 is under consideration. We will formally decide on a possible extension of the application round during October and then update the closing date of the application round mentioned in the application notice. The JTF application round will also continue and the third and final application period will end on 30 November 2023. In addition, a separate JTF application round is open until 31 October 2023.

Preparations for the TE2024 reform are progressing in municipalities in the North Ostrobothnia region. Employment area declarations must be submitted to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment by 31 October 2023. In Northern Ostrobothnia, three areas of cooperation, i.e. employment, are in the process of being formed. The organising municipalities are Oulu, Raahe and Kajaani and they are responsible for organising employment services in their own region. The City of Oulu is responsible for Oulu's environmental municipalities as well as Pudasjärvi, Utajärvi and Muhos. The City of Raahe is responsible for organizing services in the southern region of the province. There are 17 municipalities in the area. Kuusamo and Taivalkoski are joining the Kainuu employment area, which is organised by the City of Kajaani. The municipalities are in agreement with each other on the services to be provided in the employment areas. At the end of October, municipalities must inform the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of the resources they have to fulfil their obligations, what cooperation partners they have and how they intend to organise integration services. In addition, …

The programme of the Regional Parliament of Northern Ostrobothnia 2023 has been published./a>

Everyone can participate in the production of the communal work with any kind of input, without prior registration, at the Pyhänttä Library (Manuntie 4, 92930 Pyhätä) from 26 September to 28 September from 15:00 to 21:00, in the lobby of the Pyhäjärvi City Hall (Ollintie 26, 86800 Pyhäsalmi) from 2 October from 15:00 to 21:00 and from 3 to 4 October from 11:00 to 17:00, and in the exhibition space of the Reisjärvi Library from 10 to 12 October from 14:00 to 20:00. The implementation of the artwork is part of the Cultural Cell project coordinated by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The works are part of the ‘Sum of Parts’ series of works by the visual artist Jenny Grönholm and the sculptor Jass Kasela. The work ‘Sum of its parts’ consists of Pyhänä, Reisjärvi, Pyhäjärvi, Siikajoki, Raahe and Ylivieska. The works were edited on the municipalities' websites and social media channels. Hilla was chosen as the theme of Pyhänttä's work and the finished work will be published on 1 October at …

Around the Bucket - Art in the courtyards and trails Sinikka Eirola and Tiina Vehkaperä, the hunters of the Art Pilot of the Cultural Cell, have created their first work in the Kalajoki River Park at the end of August. The collection of the lost everyday hunters in Hailuoto in the yard of the old school (Luovontie 61 A, 90480 Hailuoto) is on 14 October. Hailuoto Whitefish Market's workshop output unfinished. Sinikka and Tiina will leave for Sievi and Alavieska for the first time on 19 September 2023. In Sievi, you can participate in community art in the community space Lusina (Haikolantie 18, 85410 Sievi) from 12 am to 3 pm, in Alavieska by the tree trunk near the parish building (Papinpolku 1, 85200) on the riverfront from 4 pm to 6 pm. In Pyhäjoki, the first community art workshop was held on 18 September at 12-15 in Kirkkopuisto. Participation is free of charge and it is suitable for everyone. Next joint artwork in Pyhäjoki Church Park…

About 300 companies operating in the catchment area of Oulu, Kajaani and Kuusamo airports responded to the survey. The survey was open in August 2023. Responses came especially from companies in industry, tourism and IT. Among the industries, the sawmill, paper and metal industries were highlighted. In total, the respondents represented 45 per cent of the region's turnover and 15 per cent of the region's forced labour. The study was carried out by the Future of Air Transport in Northern Finland project managed by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Kainuu Regional Council and Naturpolis Oy are also involved in the ERDF-funded project. The study was carried out together with Sitowise Oy and Kiila Consulting Oy. Clear result: Globally, 80% of companies need air traffic and 25% of the company's total sales depend on air traffic. Of the companies 43…

The difficult cyclical situation in construction is strongly visible in Northern Ostrobothnia, where two of the most significant bankruptcies in the construction industry have already occurred. The current cyclical situation justifies the rapid and frontloading of the government's investment programme to stimulate the economy. Developing the accessibility of Northern Ostrobothnia and the Oulu region is in the interest of Finland as a whole. Without effective routes, foreign trade products will not be transported, and investments of an exceptional Northern scale will not take place. In terms of security policy and security of supply, accessibility is also important. A rapid deployment project tray from Northern Ostrobothnia has been compiled for the Government's budget session on 19-20 September (annexed). The measures set out therein fall into three categories: to implement projects with good planning capacity, to promote the planning capacity of regional key projects and to increase the funding for road maintenance. Rapid readiness projects would improve the operating conditions of the county's economy, in particular, … of different modes of transport

An implementation plan is currently being prepared for the Regional Programme for Northern Ostrobothnia. The theme of the plan is overall safety and security of supply. The themes are examined from the point of view of regional development. – Changes in the operating environment and geopolitics have highlighted the need to also identify regional development measures to promote overall security. This can mean, for example, RDI measures in cyber security, environmental technologies or health technology," says Päivi Keisanen, Development Manager at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, who is in charge of the implementation plan. The broad themes of the implementation plan include industrial policy and energy production. The logistical objectives for air traffic and double track, which have already been discussed, are also included in the plan. Changes in the security situation and Finland's NATO membership open up new opportunities and needs for RDI activities. – The role of individuals in regional development cannot be overlooked either. The regional programme focuses, for example, on supporting children, young people and families, as well as on mental health problems…

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has received an assessment of the applications for the first application period for the Just Transition (19.4-12.5.2023). The total number of applications assessed was a record 149, of which 93 were considered suitable for positive further preparation. Some EUR 33 million of Structural Fund funding will be allocated to positive applications. After the first application period, approximately EUR 6.7 million of Just Transition funding will still be available to fund projects in the second and third application periods, provided that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment grants the planned granting powers for 2023-2026 in full to the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The third and final application period ends on 30 November 2023. For more information on the application round, click here.

Oulu Tourism Forum and the Northern Ostrobothnia Tourism Parliament will merge this year. There will be interesting speeches, information and networking. The organisers are BusinessOulu, Oulu Chamber of Commerce, Oulu Tourism Ltd and the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The programme of the North Ostrobothnia Tourism Forum, which will be held at Hotel Lasaret in Oulu on 14 November from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be published during September. Registration by 12 November: lyyti.in/tourism forum2023