East and North Finland
Presentation of the Region
Nature, the refining of natural resources, and strong technological expertise have created the foundation for economic development in East and North Finland (ENF). Complimentary competences such as digital expertise support the traditional industries and are also growing business sectors themselves in East and North Finland. The area as a whole is one of EU´s Northern Sparsely Populated Areas with population of 1,27 million inhabitants covering a surface area of over 235 450 km2. Abundant natural resources and top-notch expertise are the foundation for growth in the East and North Finland region.
RIS3 Priorities
The shared Smart Specialisation Strategy for the East and North Finland region aims to respond to the European challenge of a sustainable economy that is decoupled from fossil raw materials, where the utilisation of digital technologies boosts the green transition (digital green transition). The smart energy transition, digital solutions and low-carbon economy create development needs and business opportunities that can be seized through strong cooperation between the public sector, civil society, research and innovation actors and the business sector. Clusters and value networks formed by RDI actors and the business life create a basis for coordinated development work.The ENF region offers solutions and new operating models for the global sustainability challenge by pooling the high-standard expertise of RDI organisations and businesses.
The priority areas in the Smart Specialisation Strategy for East and North Finland regions – clean solutions, utilisation of digitalisation and sustainable service production – support the practical implementation of the strategy by specifying the common areas of expertise as well as the related top-level expertise in the regions. The priority areas are linked by the opportunities related to sustainable development and digitalisation. Through the strategic priority areas, the ENF region acts as a promoter of innovations and a driver of RDI cooperation in Finland and on the international scale.
Political Representatives
Teppo Rekilä
Director of Regional Vitality, Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia
Regional Contact Persons
Jouni Ponnikas
Regional Development Director, Regional Council of Kainuu
Brussels Contact Persons
Eerikki Vainio
Senior Advisor, East And North Finland EU Office
Regional Address
East And North Finland EU Office 24, Avenue Palmerston 1000 Brussels Belgium
Our Pilots
Latest Updates
Vanguard Initiative High Level Directors Meeting
On 17 June, the directors from the Vanguard Initiative’s member regions met online for the High-Level Directors’ Meeting of 2021. During the meeting, the directors participated in fruitful discussions on the future development of the network and engaged with speakers from the European Commission and…
Vi First Meeting I3 Expert Group
The first meeting of the Expert Group which will assist the EC in the I3 work programme preparation took place on the 15th of June. It allowed the first exchange of views on this new instrument’s draft work programme 2021-2022.VI is represented by Wim de Kinderen, from South Netherlands, who has bee…
Vi Member Expert Group Interregional Innovation Investments I3
The Vanguard Initiative, represented by the Vanguard Pilot Monitoring Task Group lead Wim de Kinderen, has been selected by the European Commission as a member of the Expert Group on Interregional Innovation Investments (I3). This is an important acknowledgment for our network, recognised as a relev…