Over the past 4 years, Päijät Häme region and five other regional and local players and an advisory partner have been working together as part of the Next2Met Interreg Europe project, to implement policy solutions aimed at increasing the attractiveness for knowledge, opportunities and capital of territories located close to metropolitan areas.
Below, you will discover the challenges, solutions and results of Päijät Häme region improving the quality of life of its residents through digitalisation.
Initial Challenge
Structurally damage from the 1990, due to the collapse of the soviet trade. The region still has a high unemployment rate (11,4%). The traditional textile, wood and metal industries are now being replaced by more modern ones.
The region currently has a population of about 204,478, and around 1/3 of jobs are in the health and social sector.
Research and development activities have increased in recent years, following the creation of Finland's youngest university, which opened in 2019.
Solution and results
Thanks to the digitalisation several aspects have been improved or created:
With Barcelona region they had the opportunity to benchmark the home care solutions. The services are brought to the home.
Free public health services in Finland and basic services can be use by mobile phone (renew prescription, make an appointment etc).
Päijät Häme region has also be working on the regional attraction through the improvement of the quality of life. In this context, they have been working on increasing the cultural activities, notably through the Museum for visual arts MALVA.
Finally, the region has also been working on improving internet connectivity and also on supporting companies, organisations, and communities to go in a hybrid mode without being isolated.
