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The regions of Eastern and Northern Finland will continue their fruitful cooperation within the framework of the region's common smart specialisation strategy. The aim of the cooperation is to improve the growth of cooperation networks and funding opportunities especially for companies located in the Eastern and Northern Finland region as well as research, development and innovation (RDI) actors. The work will be carried out on a practical level in the Smart Specialisation in Eastern and Northern Finland 2022-2027 (ELMO II) project, which aims in particular at consolidating cooperation between provincial experts. At the same time, the creation of new innovations in the region is supported, especially through value network analyses and the development of cluster activities. The ELMO II cooperation network supports the development of the national and international networking activities of actors in the Eastern and Northern Finland region by providing actors in the region not only with information but also memberships to the Vanguard Initiative, as well as in European cluster networks European Clusters Excellence Labelling Structure (EUCLES) and …

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has been selected as the second coordinator of the tourism policy area of the European Union's macro-regional strategy for the Baltic Sea region together with the Pomorski region of Poland. EU macro-regional strategies address the challenges of cross-border geographical areas within the European Union. Macro-regional strategies create a bridge between EU and local politicians. Strategy work does not create new EU funds, legislation or formal structures. The implementation of the macro-strategy for the Baltic Sea region is based on the Baltic Sea Interreg programme. The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region includes 14 policy areas with specific responsibilities. One of these areas is tourism. The Action Plan for the Baltic Sea Region Strategy was adopted in 2021. With regard to tourism, the Action Plan has three priorities: development of cross-border tourism in remote and rural areas, investment in people, skills and technology in tourism and …

Organisations play an important role in the development of the region and in promoting the well-being and inclusion of local residents. This has been understood and internalised in Northern Ostrobothnia. In the future, the role of organisations as part of multidisciplinary development work will be further strengthened and consolidated. This is the central goal of the North Ostrobothnia Organisational Advisory Board, which is now starting its third term. "We want organisations to be involved in the implementation of the newly published provincial programme for Northern Ostrobothnia," says Ilpo Tapaninen, Director of Planning. It is also tasked with strengthening cooperation between organisations and between organisations, the public sector and the business sector, working together with the inclusion work of the North Ostrobothnia Welfare Area and promoting the organisation's activities. Visibility and recognition for good work are gained, for example, through the annual organisation award. The Advisory Board has a diverse representation of organisations from different fields. There is also ….

At its meeting on Monday 14 March, the Provincial Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia decided to provide humanitarian aid of EUR 10,000 to Ukraine through the Finnish Red Cross. The provincial government has expressed the hope that the municipalities of the province will participate in supporting Ukraine through reliable international aid organisations. – Assistance should be provided when needed. The power of cooperation is known in Northern Ostrobothnia, and municipalities are directing humanitarian aid to alleviate the emergency situation in Ukraine, says Jussi Ylitalo, Chairman of the Provincial Government. The Regional Director of Northern Ostrobothnia, Pauli Harju, has also expressed a wish for municipalities to participate in helping people in need in Ukraine. Several municipalities in Northern Ostrobothnia have already decided or are in the process of deciding to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, which is fighting the Russian aggression. Currently, the total grant amount granted by the counties is approximately…

The CPMR Baltic Sea Commission published a position paper on behalf of Ukraine and Ukrainians. In its statement, the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission recalls the long-standing good cooperation between the countries around the Baltic Sea and raises concerns about the multiple negative effects of the Russian invasion. Read the full statement at the link below. CPMR Baltic Sea Commission stands with Ukraine_Statement from the BSC Executive Committee (1)

We gathered information on the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Finland and beyond. For example, you can read about the impact of sanctions on different parties in the links below: Ministry for Foreign Affairs/Russia's invasion of Ukraine (Home - Ministry for Foreign Affairs (um.fi) ) Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce ( https://www.svkk.fi/newsroom/ukraina-monitoring-2022/ ) Finland Chamber of Commerce (From Russia sanctions to companies - Finland Chamber of Commerce ) Finnish Entrepreneurs (All about Ukraine for entrepreneurs - Yrittajat.fi ) Confederation of Finnish Industries (https://ek.fi/current/news/ukraina/ ) Finnvera ( https://www.finnvera.fi/finnvera/newsroom/newsroom/news/Russian-and-ukrainan-guarantee handling-interrupted ) Business Finland English ( https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/campaign-sites/ukraine-russia-situation ) Business Finland (htttps://www.businessfinland.fi/campaign-s)) ) Business Finland  

Welcome to plan and productize tours around the cultural heritage of the hydropower plants and their communities in the Oulujoki river basin. Before the workshops there will be interesting introductions to the topic. Registration by 25 February 2022 at 4 pm from this link to the event on 1 March 2022 Registration by 11 March 2022 at 4 pm from this link to the event on 15 March 2022 Registration link to the event on 1 March 2022. Registration link for the event on 15 March 2022

North Ostrobothnia Climate Roadmap 2021-2030 - Towards a carbon-neutral North Ostrobothnia was adopted by the Provincial Government exactly one year ago. The road map provides guidelines for the county's climate goals and their implementation. The work is based on researched knowledge and extensive cooperation with actors. The result reflects the region's special characteristics, comprehensive review, solution-oriented approach, and the will and commitment of the actors. The work is progressing and there are resources for implementation. Now the latest, but certainly not least - the provincial cooperation group (MYR) proposes to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: The regional selection criterion for scoring applications received by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia under priority axis 2 is the Regional Programme for Northern Ostrobothnia 2022-2025 and the Climate Road Map for Northern Ostrobothnia 2021-2030. Do you still remember the top themes? There are almost 130 measures in total and everything matters! You can find the core messages here. Further information:…

The new Barents Financial Mechanism (BFM) supports the promotion of contacts and sustainable development in the Barents region. The supported projects are expected to support the objectives of the ongoing Finnish BEAC and Nenetsian Barents Regional Council (BRC) Presidencies. Maximum grant for one project: EUR 40 000. The co-financing rate must be at least 10% and the duration of the project must not exceed two years. For justified reasons, the project period may be extended to three years.  BEAC member countries have been planning to create their own funding programme to support Barents cooperation for years. Finland will invest a total of EUR 550 000 in the fund. The total funding for the first call is EUR 730,000. Several information sessions related to the financial instrument will be organised for potential applicants during the spring of 2022. Read more about the instrument here.

The first actual application period for the new Northern Periphery and Arctic programme is planned to take place from 17 March to 20 June 2022. The Interreg NPA cooperation programme for 2021-2017 has been built on the good experiences of previous programmes. The programme area has now been slightly reduced so that Northern Ireland and Scotland are no longer part of the actual programme area. The programme area in Norway also changed to include the two northernmost provinces, Nordland and Troms-Finnmark. Ireland, on the other hand, introduced new regions into the programme. In order to quickly launch the new NPA programme, the Monitoring Committee now encourages those planning cooperation projects to develop their ideas, find suitable project partners and identify available counterpart funding sources in different countries. The final criteria (Terms of Reference) will be established by the Monitoring Committee just before the official opening of the call, but … will: