Leverage for Growthin East and North Finland

1995-1999TRANSPORT

INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

2000-2006ATTRACTIVENESS AND

ACCESSIBILITY

2007-2013RESEARCH AND

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

2014-2020R&D&I ACTIVITIES

2021-

Learning the methods of systematic development

and project activitiesIndividual projects

Environmental actions and transport infrastructure

Business subsidies

Environment and infrastructure projects

promoting regional attractiveness

Industry and operator-specific development on the regional levelBusiness subsidies

Building and reinforcing research

and learning environmentsIntraregional networking

Business subsidies

T

Use of R&D in increasing the competitiveness of companies and creating

new businessDevelopment across

industriesBusiness subsidies

Innovations and new business

Networking on the EU level

An increasing trend from the funding of operating environments to the funding of research and expertise

“Competitive physical environments” Increasing the competitiveness of R&D and learning environments

“Effective regional expertise”

“Creating new business”

Attractiveness and accessibility (incl. data networks and digitalisation)

Developing effectiveness from the regional level to a national, EU and international level

Promoting employment, building functional educational structures and preventing social exclusion

Promoting business activities and employment

Developing education and expertise systemsQuality of education

Developing employment and the

working life

Promoting the employment of youth and other marginalised

labour market groupsincl. employment of

immigrants

Skilled labour for the growing needs of

industry and commerce

Increasing expertise on the regional level

Major R&D&I environments

formed in Eastern and

Northern Finland

Creating new business by combining

areas of expertise

Chemical industry expertise

Forest bioeconomy and wood products

Rock, mining and metal industries

Material and mechanical engineering

Environmental and water technology

Circular economy

Tourism and Arctic expertise

Information and communication technology, printed electronics and measuring technology

Food industry

EXPERTISE IN NATURAL RESOURCES

Wellness and health technology

Results achieved through business and operating environment development subsidies in the development of tourism in Eastern and Northern Finland

between 2015-2017

498 direct new jobs, + agency-hired labour

Increase in revenue of EUR 87 million, 1 euro

of aid adding over 3 euros of revenue

Increase in exports of EUR 59 million, 1 euro of aid

adding 2.2 euros of international demand

Total costs achieved through aid: EUR 97

million, scale of projects exceeds this

further

The share of low-carbon projects in

tourism is 37%

Tourism’s share of GDP: Lapland 5.9%,

Kainuu 3.9%, nationally 2.5%

Growth through tourism

• EU support has been directed to tourism centres and to measures with significant leverage by, for example, supporting strategic international marketing on the national level through e.g. the Visit Finland and Lakeland collaborations and the Visit Arctic Europe network.

• The importance of tourism on the region’s economy is significant. For example, of the 5.8 million overnight stays in Finland in 2016, Lapland was the second most visited region with a share of slightly over one fifth of the stays.

• The share of tourism of GDP is 5.9% in Lapland, 3.9% in Kainuu and 3.6% in South Savo, compared to 2.5% in Finland as a whole.

• The conditions for tourism are developed as a part of larger development linked to accessibility, basic infrastructure, use of the areas and the coordination of various businesses.

• Due to rapid growth, there is now a lack of skilled labour. The employment rate of Lapland’s tourism has grown by 50% since 2000. Development emphasises education, research, resource efficiency, and environmental and safety factors.

• Year-round usability and accessibility continue to pose challenges. International marketing and new target areas are needed. Development work accounts for attractiveness factors and sustainable development.

Low-carbon products and energy from wood• Mechanical wood processing

• manufacture of solid wood structures and training

• wood construction products with higher value added (e.g. beams, building elements, roof structures)

• research into heat treatment and other modification methods and the flame-proofing of wood material.

• themes of traditional timber construction, modern architecture, manufacturing and low-carbon construction

nationally significant business and product development environments and expertise around timber construction

• Forest bioeconomy and energy

• Bio-oil refinery pilot project - developing a new operating model for bioeconomy. In the production unit, locally harvested, renewable forest-based raw materials are processed into high-quality bio-oil with high energy content.

• Biorefining value chains - manufacturing building blocks for bioplastics from wood materials such as straw and sawdust

• Utilising chemistry expertise in the refinement of new products from the residual products and by-products of the wood industry

• strengthening of a financially and environmentally sustainable bioenergy chain – availability of raw materials, procurement logistics and management of combustion processes

• comprehensive chain of harvesting and processing wood from the planning of wood harvesting to transport, processing, end product manufacturing, energy use with forest energy and the principle of circular economy, and reuse in the forest as wood ash

• technology related to the detection (ultraviolet light) and extraction of valuable substances from wood, such as stilbenoids

Global conquest in digitalisation• Eastern and Northern Finland has invested heavily in the ICT sector. Due to the vast distances of

the region, digitalisation is a worthwhile investment.

• EU funding has been targeted for the development of innovation ecosystems, electronic services and commercial applications.

• In recent years, development projects have focused on wireless data transfer (5G), Internet of Things (IoT), electronic social and health services, open data and electronic archiving, and learning technology applications.

• Northern Ostrobothnia is home to a technology cluster focused on the determined development of innovation systems to support the sector. The development of expertise is ensured by a network formed by the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Technical Research Centre VTT, and an active business environment.

• In the structural change of the ICT sector, the EU structural funds have played a key role in supporting the development of both the ecosystem and expertise.

Skilled labour and social capital with the support of the Social Fund

Ohjaamo centres operate across Finland under

various names.Ohjaamo centres provide guidance in issues related

to work, education and everyday matters. Several Ohjaamo centres across

Finland offer information and guidance with short wait times and according

to need.

- ESF funding has supported in modernising the educational structures and expertise of the region in order to promote growth and raise the level of education towards the national average

- ESF funding serves to substantially equalise development different between regions

- ESF funding significantly supplements activities that receive support from the ERDF

- Development efforts are needed in particular to support the employment of young people and other groups in a weak labour market position. An example is the Ohjaamo service, funded through regional programmes.

The EU Structural Fund aid is extremely important for the continueddevelopment of Eastern and Northern Finland

Structural Fund aid:

• builds and leverages the future and development of the region

• holds great significance for improving the opportunities for regional and structural policies in the region, amidst the various ongoing structural changes

• spurs on the region in strengthening its capacity for innovation, research infrastructure, high-level expertise, and the efficient utilisation of direct research funding, raises the capabilities of the region’s innovation systems in creating new products and services, and enables completely new initiatives

• ensures the success and job creation of cutting-edge, export-led industries that are essential for smart regional specialisation and national competitiveness

• facilitates the utilisation of the region’s potential for the benefit of all of Finland and Europe

• promotes the sustainable utilisation of the region’s natural resources and values in order to improve European competitiveness, and demonstrates the importance of the strengths of Arctic areas to the European Union

• reinforces the EU’s Arctic Policy and Arctic priorities in the upcoming Cohesion Policy through the expertise and development of the region

• promotes interregional cooperation on the national and international levels

• is indispensable in helping to meet the challenges of sparsely populated areas

Links• A success story of tourism in Lapland: https://issuu.com/lapinliitto/docs/matkailunmenestystarina

• Can you hear the calming stillness of the wilderness?: http://hossa.fi/

• Wild Taiga, European Best Destination 2017: http://www.wildtaiga.fi/ (project information)

• Fibre Laboratory: https://www.xamk.fi/tutkimus-ja-kehitystoiminta/kuitulaboratorio/

• Laboratory of Green Chemistry: https://www.lut.fi/school-of-engineering-science/tutkimusryhmat/vihrea-kemia

• Digitalia: https://www.xamk.fi/tutkimus-ja-kehitystoiminta/digitalia/

• Leverage from EU to the forest bioeconomy of Eastern Finland

• Savilahti, Kuopio - comprehensive urban design

• Smart specialisation in North Savo

• Video: Joensuu Centre of the Forest World

• Future in Lithium: Mining, research and industrial cluster focused on the production of battery chemicals

• Future in Lithium brochure

• Success stories from Northern Ostrobothnia

• Video: Oulu Innovation Alliance

• Nordic eSports Academy: https://www.nordicesports.academy/etusivu