news

JTF funding can now also be applied for cross-regional thematic projects in Kainuu, Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia. A total of €1.293 million has been earmarked for thematic projects. €. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia acts as an intermediate authority. The call will fund only trans-national projects under JTF priority axis seven Just Transition Finland under specific objective 7.1 ‘Territorially just transition to de-peatisation’ and will implement the following themes: o Development of logging chains and methods o Circular industrial economy: utilization of side streams o Green hydrogen economy The results of the projects must be usable in the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, Lapland and Kainuu. When selecting projects to be funded, priority will be given to projects involving actors from all the above-mentioned provinces. Before preparing an application, it is a good idea to take a closer look at the Renewable and Skilled Finland…

Support under the Act on Fixed Broadband Construction 1262/2020 can be applied for in the municipality of Kempele. Applications addressed to the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia must be submitted by 22 May 2023 at 12.00 noon at the latest by e-mail to kirjaamo@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi More information on the project area, the application procedure and the selection criteria can be found at https://pohjois-karjala.fi/broadband.

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has opened an application round for JTF projects from the EU's Regional and Structural Policy Programme for a Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027. The application round is open from 19 April 2023 to 30 November 2023. Applications will be processed periodically. In the call for applications, JTF applications will be accepted for Priority Axis 7 “Finland for Just Transition” under Specific Objective 7.1 “Territorially Just Transition for the Renunciation of Peat”. Before preparing an application, it is advisable to read more about the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme document and the content of the above-mentioned specific objective, as well as the transition plan. Approximately EUR 35,000,000 is planned to be used to finance the projects that have arrived in the application round. The maximum amount of funding requested (JTF and State) is 80% development project and up to 70% the total cost of the investment project. For more information on the application round, click here.

Are you a professional artist or cultural operator from Northern Ostrobothnia, Lapland, Kainuu or North Karelia? Are you or your organisation internationally active or do you have international goals or wishes? Do you want to help develop cultural and cultural cooperation in the Barents region? If you answered yes, we hope you will join us in preparing a cultural report for the Barents region by answering the survey. The cultural report will be an overview of the cultural life in Northern Norway, Northern Sweden and Northern Finland and its international activities with development proposals. The report provides a description of the current state, opportunities and challenges of cultural life, as well as future development needs and strategies. The study takes into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine and the economic downturn. Cultural actors in the Barents region play an important role in the drafting of the report and participate through the survey…

The report of the EMMI project of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia entitled 'Opportunities of renewable energy production and the related green hydrogen economy and land use conditions in Northern Ostrobothnia' has been completed. The work provides new information on various forms of renewable energy and the opportunities of the hydrogen economy in Northern Ostrobothnia. Several studies related to the hydrogen economy have been carried out from a techno-economic point of view; the main focus of the EMMI is on land use. In particular, the municipality-specific reviews and interactions were the successes of the work. The report can be downloaded from the EMMI project website: There is also a summary presentation. The work was commissioned by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia by Sweco Oy and Gaia Oy. The work of the EMMI project continues. Next, the climate impacts of the new wind power areas in the energy and climate phase regional plan for Northern Ostrobothnia will be investigated over the entire life cycle. Changes in land use are also taken into account in the assessment. Additional information: Ritva Isomäki, Senior Specialist, Project Manager ritva.isomaki(at)pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

The latest cluster monitoring in Northern Ostrobothnia extends to the end of 2022. Of the clusters monitored, ICT, a large cluster of the creative economy and tourism developed best during the year. The ICT cluster's turnover grew by 19.7 per cent and the number of employees by 6.4 per cent in 2022. Net sales growth was strongest in the first quarter, more than 30 per cent, but in other quarters the growth was between 12 and 22 per cent. The ICT cluster's personnel growth was strong throughout the year and slightly increased towards the end of the year. For the creative economy cluster, with software design and manufacturing, other construction joinery products, other non-metallic mineral products, furniture manufacturing and newspaper publishing as the main industries, turnover increased by 10.8% in 2022. The cluster's net sales grew more strongly in the early part of the year than at the end of the year. Creative …

On 1 April 2023, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia will launch a whistleblowing channel. The purpose of the channel is to highlight grievances and to guarantee fair and uniform treatment of all notifications. All private and public sector organisations employing at least 50 people are required by law to establish this channel. The introduction of the channel is based on the EU Whistleblower Directive and the national whistleblower protection act, which entered into force at the beginning of the year.  The internal reporting channel of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia is intended for the use of the staff of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia, and the reporting of misconduct is primarily made to that reporting channel. In certain situations required by law, notification can also be made to the central external notification channel of the Chancellor of Justice or directly to the competent authority. Through the website of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, applicants for project funding and the Northern Ostrobothnia … can also submit a notification to the voluntary notification channel.

The sustainability requirement strongly permeates society as a whole, all its functions and actors. Technical solutions alone are not enough for change. We need a new way of living, values and ways of thinking. We need a cultural sustainability breakthrough. How can culture concretely respond to the ecological sustainability crisis? What role can culture play in the green transition, ecological reconstruction and strengthening democracy? How is culture part of the solution in Northern Ostrobothnia? These big questions will be discussed at the Cultural Forum on 23 March 2023 at Oulu Music Centre. The theme of the day is Sustainability from Culture to Northern Ostrobothnia. A number of cultural operators, artists and researchers have already taken up the challenge of the sustainability transformation. One of them is Pauliina Latvala-Harvilahti, docent of cultural heritage, who belongs to the research community of the House of Science and Hope in Helsinki and to the Suotrendi research group of the University of Eastern Finland. He explores the group with swamps…

Government-produced employment and business services will be transferred to municipalities at the beginning of 2025. The Act was approved by Parliament in plenary session on 1 March 2023. - Municipalities can now take action, i.e. discuss and agree on employment areas. Some discussions have already taken place in the municipalities of the region," says Jouni Korhonen, Project Manager of the TE2024 project of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Korhonen points out that municipalities have long proposed the transfer of state-produced TE services for their own implementation. The reform offers municipalities the opportunity to plan and implement employment management services close to private and corporate customers. Municipalities are in a hurry The Municipalities have been waiting for the Parliament's decision. The entry into force of the Act means busy times for municipal decision-makers. They have to solve big things. Municipalities must establish employment areas on the basis of three different criteria: New employment area…

The application period for the AKKE grant of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for the period 1 November 2022 - 28 February 2023 ended. Fifteen applications were received by the deadline. A total of about one million euros was requested for funding.