Regional Council of Central Finland

Supreme authority in the Regional Council of Central Finland is exercised by the regional council, which is elected for a four year term by a representative assembly and consists of representatives of all the municipalities in Central Finland. Implementation and administration is the responsibility of the regional board, which the regional council elects at two year intervals. Subordinate to these is the office of the Regional Council of Central Finland, led by an Executive Director CEO.

Finland’s regional councils are legally responsible for the planning and development of their respective areas: as regional development authorities they are charged with responsibility for the regional plan, the regional programme and drafting the regional land use plan. These are formulated in cooperation with representatives of state and municipal administration, the business sphere and other specialists.

The Regionl Plan

The regional plan sets guidelines for regional development over the long term (20-30 years). The drafting of this plan in 2002 involved the participation of state and local government officials, the business sector, establishments providing education and training, a variety of organisations and individual citizens. It is this document on which all other development plans and programmes affecting the region are based.

The Regional Land use plan

The regional land use plan informs planning in the individual municipalities as well as all land use planning in the region, taking into account both the needs of the business sector and environmental protection. The points of departure for planning are man, nature, the built environment and use of the same, as well as sustainable development.

The Regional Programme

The regional programme reconciles and directs, in accordance with guidelines laid down in the regional plan, European Union, state and regional development programmes and resources for a period of 3-5 years.

Implementation plans

Implementation plans comprise measures to be taken annually in line with the regional programme as well as a financing plan.

Land use planning

The Regional Council of Central Finland is responsible for planning of land use and the community structure. This includes plans relating to services, settlement, traffic and municipal engineering, plans and monitoring involving communications networks (road, rail, air, data), general planning in the region, maintenance of place-data and regional plan materials, preparation and evaluation of environmental matters as well as cultural heritage and protection area matters and nature studies.

Regional development

The Regional Council of Central Finland prepares, reconciles and implements national regional development programmes and European Union programmes in Central Finland in accordance with a jointly agreed development strategy.

The Regional Council of Central Finland directs state and European Union funding granted to Central Finland into practical project work in collaboration with other authorities in the region. In addition to the Regional Council of Central Finland project funding is provided by T&E Centre (Employment and Economic Development Centre), the State Provincial Office of Western Finland, Central Finland Regional Environment Centre, Central Finland Road Region, Finnvera Oyj and Tekes (National Technology Agency of Finland).

From the Central Finland Development Fund the Regional Council of Central Finland finances, among other things, preliminary studies for EU projects and other projects which strengthen the region’s competitiveness and expertise as well as promote the networking of enterprises.

The Regional Council of Central Finland gathers data and produces reports, for instance, in the fields of economic and vocational structure, education and culture, and forecasts the state of the region for the purposes of future planning.

Overseeing the interests of Central Finland and its municipalities

The Regional Council of Central Finland looks after the interests of the region and its member municipalities when changes occur in Finnish regional policy, legislation or administration, or when decisions are taken that affect municipal finances or state investments.

The overseeing of interests means, among other things, the drafting of advisory opinions and position statements, negotiations, meetings and other forms of contact with the relevant parties. One of the Regional Council’s tasks is to submit the region’s key projects for inclusion in the annual state budget. In these efforts we work closely with Central Finland’s members of parliament, state regional administration and the various municipalities.

International relations

Safeguarding Central Finland’s interests demands a network of contacts extending to the European Union and numerous international bodies. Central Finland and four other geographical regions jointly make up the West Finland Alliance (WFA), which works for the benefit of its member regions both in Finland and in Brussels.

The Regional Council of Central Finland is also a member of various organisations that bring together the regions of Europe including:

AER (Assembly of European Regions),

EURADA (European Association of Development Agencies),

FEDARENE (European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies) and

The Midnordic Committe for cooperation across mid-Norway, Sweden and Finland.