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
European Networks And S3 Partnerships Come Together Support Interregional Innovation
European Regions, Interregional Smart Specialisation partnerships and other innovation stakeholders jointly call upon the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to preserve the proposed ‘Interregional Innovation Investments’ component and to preserve the following key elements irrespectively …
International Cluster Cluster Meeting Bologna 5Th June 2019
The International Cluster-to-Cluster Meeting – C2C – is conceived as a summit gathering national and regional clusters from European countries aiming to exchange innovative models for cluster cooperation, explore common areas of interest, activate new partnerships among clusters and between clusters…
Strong Emphasis Industrial Needs And Challenges 3Dp Pilot Project
Over the last weeks, the 3D-Printing Pilot project has put a particular emphasis on three key action lines, which resulted in some promising progress. Within the currently identified strategic collaboration areas (“demo cases”) companies from the partner regions are actively working on the specifici…