International Co-operation

The Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia operates in several regional, national and international networks, which promote internationalisation and international co-operation.

Map of Europe in sepia colours with a net of strings connecting pins as main cities

Regional and national networks

The West Finland European Office (WFEO) is the joint regional office in Brussels for the Regional Councils of South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Ostrobothnia and Satakunta. WFEO acts as the lobbying office for the regions, and its tasks also include client assignments, supporting regional operators in utilising EU-funding and informing them of EU decision making. An important platform for WFEO in seeking and providing information is ERRIN, a network of European regions in Brussels.
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South Ostrobothnia’s Excellence Forum for internationalisation is a network of the region’s central research, development and educational operators. The aim of the forum is to obtain international export projects on research, development, education and expertise for the region and to substantially grow region’s project funding.

Team Finland is a national network of all public internationalisation services offered for Finnish companies. Among its members are e.g. Business Finland and Finnvera. Team South Ostrobothnia is a regional co-operation network supporting Team Finland’s work. The network coordinates international events in the region and provides information on both the regional and national opportunities for internationalisation.

In addition, the Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia participates in the cooperation network of municipalities and regional councils coordinated by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and in the network of regional councils’ employees working on international affairs.

International networks

ECHAlliance – The European Connected Health Alliance is the Global Connector for Digital Health, facilitating multi-stakeholder connections around ecosystems, driving sustainable change and disruption in the delivery of health and social care.

The eHealth for Regions Network supports international cooperation and development activities on health technology, health and wellbeing. Project and information exchange have a pivotal role in the network.

ERIAFF – The European Region for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry network was constituted on 2012 as an informal partnership to facilitate the integration of European policies in favour of innovation in agriculture, food and forestry areas. ERIAFF has reached the aggregation of 50 Regions from 21 European Union Member States. ERIAFF members have developed 11 Interregional Operational Groups, of which many have made a considerable contribution to the Smart Specialization Strategy (S3) Agrifood Platform, launched by the European Commission. South Ostrobothnia is involved in four of which three have the status of a Thematic Network of the Agrifood Platfom and one, “Food Systems”, established in 2021, is lead by Seinäjoki University of Applied sciences on behalf of the Regional Council.

ERNACT – European Regions Network for the Application of Communications Technology is an international network of European regional and city public authorities. The network particularly valorises EU’s funding and development opportunities for digital transformation which target research, development and innovation activities, boost business conditions and develop regions.
BSSC – The Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation is a political network for decentralised authorities in the Baltic Sea Region. The network operates under the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and it promotes co-operation between the Baltic Regions in matters of economy, technology, environment, education, traffic and the social sector. The organisation is comprised of a secretariat, working committees, president, Board of Directors and a conference.

The Kvarken Council is a cross-order cooperation for the three Regional Councils of Ostrobothnia and the cities of Vaasa, Kokkola, Seinäjoki and Jakobstad in Finland, as well as the Regional Council of Västerbotten and the Municipality of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. The Council supports the cooperation between various actors in the Kvarken region, reduces and eliminates border barriers, increases the visibility of the region at national and European levels, works actively in several European networks, utilises the region’s strengths and supports the development of the region.

Friendship regions

The Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia has concluded agreements of cooperation with the region of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the county of Louth in Ireland and the city of Hanoi in Vietnam. In addition, the Council cooperates actively with the Kujawsko-Pomorskie province in Poland.

Thematic Smart Specialisation Platforms

The Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia together with Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences participates in four smart specialisation thematic areas related to agriculture and food set by the European Commission:

High-tech Farming
Consumer Involvement in Agri-Food
Traceability and Big Data
Smart Sensors for Agri-Food

More information about thematic smart specialisation platforms: https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home