POKAT 2021 North Karelia’s Regional Strategic Programme for 2018–2021 Contents Foreword The regional strategic programme is a statutory regional devel- Sustainable Foreword 3 AIKO opment programme that must be taken into consideration by European growth and jobs Regonal Current state of North Karelia 6 the authorities. It states the regional development objectives, Territorial 2014-2020, innovations and which are based on the characteristics and opportunities spe- Cooperation structural fund experiments Focus areas of the Regional Strategic Programme 8 cific to the region in question. The programme is drawn up for a Programmes programme (Interreg) ”Small” 1. Vitality from regional networking – Good accessibility and operating environment 8 four-year period. The POKAT 2021 North Karelia Regional Stra- tegic Programme is for the period 2018–2021. regional policy Accessibility, transport routes and connections 8 National and international networks 8 The regional strategic programme describes and consolidates CBC programmes EU, national, supraregional and regional level strategies as well (external border) 2. Growth from renewal – A diverse, sustainable and job-friendly economic structure 10 as the municipal and local level strategies. Despite the multi- Europe 2020 Strategy, Forest bioeconomy 10 sectoral overall approach, the aim is for the programme to have White Paper on the Future ”Large” specific focus areas. Concrete measures are described in the ac- of Europe 2025, 7th cohesion regional policy Technology industries 10 tion plan of the strategic programme and in individual sectoral report, EU Strategy for National objectives for Stone processing and mining 10 strategies and action plans. Separate EU the Baltic Sea Region, regional development Tourism 11 POKAT 2021 is the North Karelia Regional Strategic Programme programmes for the 2018–2021 period. The programme’s vision propositions (direct EU funding) Arctic region’s joint Food 11 are: smart specialisation, an oil-free region and life-long partic- communication Central Smart Specialisation choices 12 ipation. The core of smart specialisation is formed by two inter- government national-level expertise areas for economic development: new block grants, 3. Well-being from partnerships 16 solutions in forest bioeconomy, and technologies and materi- infrastructure, investments Education and competence 16 als as drivers of growth. The region also has significant growth Rural Regional Well-being and inclusion 16 potential in mining and tourism. In terms of natural resources, development agriculture and food production play important roles. North Ka- fund strategic Culture, identity and creative industries 16 relia is aiming to become non-reliant on fossil fuels: the region seeks to be at the forefront of sustainable and resource-smart programme Action plan 4. Overarching themes 18 production and use of renewable energies. Life-long participa- (regional Regional strategy tion is about seeing the ageing population as an opportunity development The living environment 18 POKAT 2021 discussion) The specifics of urban and rural development 18 rather than just as a challenge. Resource wisdom 18 AREAS OF Security 19 Municipal and Supra-regional local strategies PROGRAMME strategies and and thematic thematic Regional programmes programmes strategies and WORK thematic programmes 3 The focus areas of the regional strategic Vision of the POKAT 2021 Programme programme are: • Smart Specialisation – Smart Growth: North Karelia invests • Oil free region – Sustainable Growth: Emerging bioecon- • Life-long participation – Inclusive Growth: Population age- • Vitality from regional networking – Good accessibility and The development of the operational environment and economic The specific characteristics of urban areas, suburban regions, in selected productive sectors. The goal is to increase re- omy and climate change consideration provide good op- ing is both a challenge and an opportunity for the region. By operating environment growth are aimed at supporting residents’ well-being – in other rural and sparsely populated areas are recognised and used gion´s enterprises’ international competitiveness portunities for resource efficient activities in North Karelia. activating people of different age groups the region wishes • Growth from renewal – A diverse, sustainable and words, ensuring comfortable daily lives. Educational standards as the basis for development efforts. Housing and living envi- The objective to become a region that is free from fossil oil to be recognized as the home region of people of all ages job-friendly economic structure are high, and the necessary competence areas are supported ronments are pleasant and safe. The “resource wisdom” ap- is demanding but realistic • Well-being from partnerships – Comfortable living as needed. Welfare services are well-functioning, and citizens’ proach means using natural resources in a sustainable and active participation in welfare development is supported. North efficient manner and supporting circular economy. Security Vitality from regional networking means creating a competitive Karelian culture is valued, and the region has a strong identity. at various levels is part of citizens’ well-being and comfort- and highly appealing operating environment in North Karelia. It able living. These dimensions are ensured through partner- means good accessibility and well-functioning transport routes The regional strategic programme has four overarching themes: ships and cooperation. and connections. North Karelia is active in various national and • the “housing and living environment” theme highlights crit- Vision of the POKAT 2021 Programme international networks. ical issues related to the region’s appeal and profile, The regional strategic programme steers the use of EU funds • the “specifics of urban and rural development” theme en- and other resources allocated to the region. The annual lev- Growth from renewal means building a diverse, sustainable and sures that development within the region is well-balanced, el of funding is estimated to be approximately €170 million. job-friendly economic structure. Strengthening the competitive- • resource wisdom offers multisectoral opportunities, and, The POKAT 2021 Regional Strategic Programme 2018–2021 ness of local economy and businesses is the central element of • as a new theme, the programme highlights security as a was approved by the Regional Assembly in December 2017. this focus area. In particular, there is a strong focus on smart spe- broad-based concept. cialisation choices without forgetting the diversity of the eco- nomic structure. Smart Oil free Life-long Specialisation – region – participation – POKAT 2021 FOCUS AREAS Smart Growth Sustainable Growth Inclusive Growth Accessibility, Smart Education and transport routes specialisation competence and links choices North Karelia invests in Emerging bioeconomy and Population ageing is both VITALITY GROWTH selected productive sectors. climate change consideration a challenge and an opportunity FROM REGIONAL FROM RENEWAL Well-being The goal is to increase region´s provide good opportunities for for the region. By activating National and - DIVERSE, and inclusion WELL-BEING NETWORKING Economic international enterprises’ international resource effi cient activities in people of different age groups - A COMPETITIVE AND competitive- SUSTAINABLE FROM PARTNERSHIPS networks ATTRACTIVE OPERATING ness AND JOB-FRIENDLY - COMFORTABLE LIVING competitiveness North Karelia. The objective to the region wishes to be ENVIRONMENT ECONOMIC become a region that is free recognized as the home STRUCTURE Culture and from fossil oil is demanding region of people of identity but realistic all ages Specifi cs of The living Resource Overarching themes urban and rural Security development environment wisdom 4 5 Current state of North Karelia In the current decade, North Karelia has seen stronger econom- has turned. The activation service has 4,000–5,000 custom- although the 2016 growth figure, at 2.5%, was low compared of duty-free sales also began to grow late last year, and shop- ic development than the national average. The forecasts were ers on a continuous basis, which is equivalent to 6–7% of the with the 2015 figure (+8.6%). Nevertheless, the figure is bet- ping tourism from Russia is clearly increasing: in the first seven less favourable for a while, but improvement in the general eco- labour force. This means that the combined unemployment fig- ter than the national average (-0.1%) and the outlook is en- months of 2017 the change was +68%. nomic outlook has also led to increased confidence in the re- ure (unemployed job-seekers and those accessing services) was couraging. gion. For North Karelia, Finland’s economic growth is a positive around 18,000 at the end of 2016. The operational economy of local authorities in North Karelia as well as a potential cause for concern, as it can affect the re- Cuts in education funding in recent years have had a significant has been catching up with the national average in recent years. gion’s net population and availability of skilled workforce. There On the plus side, this means that when labour demand increases, impact in North Karelia, since education is an important sector The annual balance, an indicator of local authorities’ economic are already some signs of a weakened trend in internal migration. the region should have plenty of skilled workers to meet the de- for the region. On the other hand, the challenging funding