news

At its meeting on 16 March 2026, the Government of Northern Ostrobothnia appointed members to three key working groups: the Advisory Board for Organisations, the Cooperation Group for Education and Research and the Advisory Board for Climate Work. The appointments concern the current term of office. The task of the NAC is to strengthen the role of organisations in the development of the region and to increase their visibility. The Advisory Board promotes the Participation and Inclusion of citizens and organisations, coserve ass in cooperation with the wellbeing services county Pohde and develops cooperation between organisations and the public sector. A large number of representatives of organisations, municipalities and expert organisations were appointed to the Advisory Board, including representatives of the Northern Ostrobothnia Village Regional Assembly, the Finnish Red Cross Oulu District, the City of Oulu and the Regional Assembly of Northern Ostrobothnia. This is the fourth term of office of the Advisory Board. The Presidium shall be elected from in cooperation within the Advisory Board. Cooperation group for education and research brings together experts in the area Cooperation group for education and research…

Interreg Aurora's application rounds for 8th development projects and 6th small projects ended on 9 March 2026. A total of 78 applications were received, 75 for Interreg Aurora and three for Sámi. Of these, 66 were development project applications and 12 were small project applications. The main applicant from Northern Ostrobothnia was involved in 14 development project applications, the most active being the University of Oulu, which was the main applicant in nine applications. Other main applicants from Northern Ostrobothnia were the City of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences and the Building Cluster of Northern Finland. In addition, the University of Oulu was a partner in 12 applications and Oulu University of Applied Sciences in five applications. The decisions on the projects to be financed will be made at the steering group meeting on 3-4 June 2026 in Oulu. Further information: niko.auer@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

The EUI National Contact Point, in cooperation in cooperation with the City of Oulu and the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, will organise a talent development event for Finnish cities in Oulu on 19-20 May 2026. The theme of the event is the changed geopolitical situation in Finland and its effects on urban development. The aim is to strengthen the capacity of cities to adapt to changes in the business environment and to take advantage of new opportunities, especially in the fields of overall safety and strategic autonomy, in order to promote the competitiveness of cities. The event is aimed at Innoka cities and all interested cities as well as key stakeholders. The event will also be attended by European peer cities and high-level representatives from the European Commission. The event offers a wide range of high-level speakers, panel discussions, best practices from European cities, workshops and networking opportunities. In addition, participants will be able to visit top destinations in the Oulu innovation ecosystem - places where world-class …

The sixth call for applications for the Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) programme ended in February, and the call turned out to be surprisingly popular. The programme received a total of 33 project applications, competing for funding of around EUR 10 million. The record number of applications shows that cooperation between states in the northern and Arctic regions is growing strongly. Finnish stakeholders have also been actively involved in Interreg programmes more broadly, especially in universities and polytechnics, reflecting national expertise and strong regional development work.   Evaluation ongoing - decisions in June 2026 All applications are now transferred to the evaluation according to the selection criteria of the programme. Applications will be processed by the Programme Secretariat and each regional evaluation group in a participating country will make its own recommendations during the spring. The final financing decisions will be taken by the Programme Monitoring Committee at the beginning of June in the Faroe Islands. Results are announced…

In accordance in cooperation with the Government's decision, approximately EUR 16 million of national funding will be allocated to the implementation of the Eastern and Northern Finland programmes. This funding is intended to support the sustainable growth and vitality of the regions, i.e. AKKE funding, which in this context is commonly referred to as IP AKKE. Funding allocated to Northern Finland amounts to n 4 million euros. The Regional Assembly of South Karelia acts as the funding authority for this IP AKKE. Separate calls for development projects and investment projects in municipal infrastructure have been opened in the State Treasury's electronic system www.haeavusutus.fi 2.3.2026. This is a continuous application in cooperation with selection periods: 1st selection period ends on 15.5.2026 2nd selection period ends on 30.10.2026 and 3rd selection period ends on 26.2.2027. Applications will be considered at the end of each selection period, in cooperation with the aim that decisions are taken in cooperation within three months of the end of the selection period. Search on…

The Regional Assembly of Oulu Region celebrated the 2026 Oulu Capital of Culture year by organizing the traditional International Women's Day reception in cooperation in cooperation with Design Centre Proto on 8 March 2026. Nearly 100 women from the region participated in the event! The reception of the Women's Day of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region discussed women's networking, influencing and opportunities to Influencing and participate in societal activities and decision-making. This year’s theme was ‘Rights. Justice. Action. All women and girls” The President of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, Senja Kovaniemi, welcomed the event. We also heard the following speeches at the event: Greetings from the Government, Minister of Education and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie Woman's place - from idea to the world, CEO and founder of FabPatch Oy Taija Säiliö Design Centre Proto gave a speech by space and furniture designer, organisation secretary, Sanna Mäkelä, Northern Finland Designers' Regional Assembly Oras Tynkkynen, Member of Parliament,…

Members of Parliament of the Oulu constituency met on Tuesday 3 March 2026 at an event held in Botta, Helsinki. The meeting discussed topical themes that are central to Northern Finland and strengthened the dialogue between the region and national decision-making. The discussion highlighted, among other things, the future prospects for the financing of the Northern Ostrobothnia Welfare Region, the purchase of rail transport in Northern and Eastern Finland, and the preparation of the Northern Finland programme for the Government's framework meeting. The event also looked at the role of the University of Oulu as an international scientific and student community and the availability of funding for companies. The event provided an opportunity for topical discussion on the development of the area and the promotion of Northern Finnish perspectives in national decision-making.

The Regional Assemblys of Northern Finland have submitted an expert opinion to Parliament's Economic Committee on the Government's proposal to amend the Act on Public Procurement (HE 2/2026 vp). The unions are particularly concerned about the effects of the proposal675 on the municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia, especially small and sparsely populated areas. The opinion raises three main concerns. These are the 10 percent ownership requirement, the constitutionality of the bill, and an insufficient transitional period. The regions of Northern Finland state that the minimum ownership requirement for affiliated entities in accordance in cooperation with the proposal weakens the operating conditions of small municipalities. It causes significant financial and operational disadvantages for small and medium-sized municipalities. In Northern Ostrobothnia, many municipalities rely on in-house units for ICT, financial administration and catering services, for example. Small municipalities do not have sufficient resources to provide all support services themselves or to tender them out in the market in a cost-effective manner. Change could lead to services…

The Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, in cooperation in cooperation with the City of Oulu, has launched an ERDF project application for the implementation of the ecosystem agreement between the State and the City of Oulu. The content of the Oulu ecosystem agreement consists of the strategic focus areas and spearhead programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance for 2021-2027. The application round is open 23.2. – 13 April 2026. Priority axis 1 is open for this call. Innovative Finland and its specific objectives 1.1: Improving research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies, 1.2: Exploiting the benefits of digitalisation for citizens, businesses and public administrations and 1.3: Improving the growth and competitiveness of SMEs and Axis 2: Carbon-neutral Finland and its specific objectives 2.1: Promoting energy efficiency measures and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and 2.3: Promoting the transition to a circular economy. In the project application process, the maximum amount of ERDF funding for sustainable urban development is 2,000,000 euros. ERDF applications…

Approximately EUR 16 million in funding to support the sustainable growth and vitality of the regions (IP AKKE) is available for the implementation of the Eastern and Northern Finland programmes. Funding is provided by the Regional Assembly of South Karelia. The Regional Assembly of South Karelia will organise an IP AKKE information and guidance session on Thursday 5 March 2026 from 9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. The event will review the content of the application and give practical tips on how to prepare the application and how to use the haeavustys.fi system. The event will be held in Teams and no pre-registration is required. You can join directly from the link. The event will not be recorded, but the presentation materials will be published afterwards on the page Implementation of programmes in Eastern and Northern Finland - Regional Assembly of South Karelia. Further information: Laura Kelhä, Development Manager, tel. 050 385 4016 Programme for Northern Finland